Fix You
by kathyluvzelle
Summary: Samantha Gilbert is a normal...as normal as can be 15 year old girl. When the Salvatores come to town, she and Elena get caught in the mess. And there's something Stefan and Damon are keeping from the girls. Something related to Katherine. What are they hiding and how will Sam react when she finds out?
1. Pilot

_Dear Diary,_

_Today is going to be different. It has to be. I'm not going to be the girl everyone feels sorry for. Well let's face it, I haven't been that girl at all. At least I tried not to be. I kept myself busy all summer, doing everything I could to help others just for my own selfish desire to not think about what happened that night. So I wouldn't have to think of the sobbing, screams, the feeling I had when I found out both my mom and dad were dead, the feeling I had when I thought Elena was dead too._

_Jenna says I'm like her. She did the same thing keeping herself busy with all different things from work to helping out in the community like me, but she ultimately ended up thinking about what happened all summer while I managed to keep it out of mind. For a while at least. I had to keep in mind I wasn't the only one who lost them, Elena and Jeremy did too. And I tried my best to be there for them, Elena let me in while Jeremy….blocked me out more and more with each passing day. I hope he goes back to being my fun big brother because even though I didn't show it much…..I need him. Both him and Elena._

_I need a change. A new beginning. And it's going to start today. I hope._

_-Samantha Gilbert_

I sighed and shut my diary, sticking it under the cushion of my window seat. I stood up and walked over to my large vanity mirror, tucking a lock of my long brown hair behind my ear. I didn't see much of my mother in me, which...could be a good thing. I didn't have to think about her each time I looked in a mirror. I was pale in comparison to her and Elena too and I was also short. It seemed like the Gilbert gene of being tall wasn't something I got, but Elena and Jeremy got. They were over the average height, while I was a good two inches under the average height for girls my age- putting me at 5 feet 2 inches.

"Elena! Jeremy! Sam! Come down for breakfast!" Jenna called up the stairs. I took a deep breath.

"You're going to have a good day," I said convincingly to myself. "Everything...will be just fine."

I hopped down the stairs and strolled into the kitchen, seeing Jenna walk around to get her things together. I went to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup of coffee.

"Morning Aunt Jenna," I said to her.

"Morning," she returned. "Have you seen my watch?"

"You mean like the one on your wrist?"

"Yeah like-" she cut herself off when she looked at it. She laughed sheepishly. "I knew it was there."

I smiled as Jeremy walked through to the table, taking my cup in the process, and began stuffing things into his backpack.

"Hey," I complained after he took my coffee.

"It'll stunt your growth," he said taking a sip. "You're short enough as it is."

"Gee thanks," I said sarcastically as Elena came in the room. I poured another cup of coffee for me.

"Morning," she said taking the cup from me. I made a face.

"Coffee thieves," I muttered. Jenna smiled at me before going back to what she was doing and letting out an exasperated sigh.

"It's your first day of school and I am totally and completely unprepared," she said scolding herself. She began digging through her purse, pulling out some money. "Need lunch money?"

"I'm fine," Elena told her.

"Me too," I said while Jeremy just took the money from her.

"Okay guys, anything else? Pencil? Paper? What am I forgetting?"

"Your presentation time?" I said glancing at the clock. She shook her head as she checked her watch.

"My thesis advisor is meeting me at...now. Crap," she panicked letting her hair down.

"Go," Elena told her. "We'll be fine."

Jenna nodded and practically ran out. I walked over to the table and held out her bag before she even came back in to take it. She smiled gratefully at me and ran back out.

"You okay?" I heard Elena asked Jeremy. He scoffed.

"Don't start," he said grabbing his backpack. He set his coffee cup down by the sink and took the one I was about to take a drink from. He smirked at me a little and left.

"Seriously?" I asked no one in particular. Elena shrugged.

"Bonnie is going to be here in five minutes. Do you need a ride?" she asked looking at her phone. I shook my head.

"Chastity is coming by with Liv, I'll be fine," I told her grabbing another cup.

"Okay," she said. A horn honked outside. "That's Bonnie. I'll see you at school."

"Bye," I said. She left and I looked at the coffee pot, letting my shoulders drop. No more coffee.

* * *

><p>I found myself in the car with Chastity- my best friend- and her older sister, Olivia. They were telling me about their recent trip to France and how there were so many more hot guys there than there were here, but I wasn't really paying attention.<p>

Instead I was staring out the window, watching the buildings and trees as they passed by in a blur.

"So how's Jeremy?" Olivia asked catching my attention. She was two years older than me and Chastity- Elena's age- and she had a huge crush on Jeremy.

"Oh...he's good, I think," I replied.

"You think?"

"He doesn't really talk to me or Elena as much as he used to," I admitted. "I wouldn't know exactly how he is. But I can tell it's not amazing."

"Is he still chasing that Donovan girl around?" she asked.

She meant Vicki. Ever since middle school, her and Vicki had this rivalry thing going since they both really liked Jeremy at the time. That was before Vicki got into drugs and Tyler Lockwood. Olivia thought she had Jeremy to herself then, and she did for a while before Jeremy got into drugs himself and he got back into Vicki.

"I'm not sure," I sighed. Honestly, I hoped not. All she did was play around with his feelings, using him for drugs. I didn't want him getting hurt. Not again.

"Well, if he is I'll see to it that he moves on from her," she said. I know she wasn't doing it for my sake, but hers but I wasn't going to say anything.

"How are you doing?" Chastity asked.

"Better," I said. She gave me the look she always gave me when she thought I was lying. "Really. I'm fine."

"You haven't been keeping yourself occupied to avoid thinking about things have you?" she asked.

"Would it be the worse thing in the world if I did?"

"Sam!" she whined. "You promised you wouldn't do that. It's not the way to get over things and you know that."

"I know," I sighed. "It's a bad habit. I'll get over it sooner or later."

"I'd rather it be sooner," she said and I sighed and looked back out my window.

* * *

><p>Chastity walked up to my locker with me, which was very close to Elena's, and smiled at Elena and Bonnie. Bonnie came up to me and pulled me into a big sisterly hug.<p>

"Hey you," she said. "It's been forever since I've had a conversation with you that lasted more than five minutes."

"I know," I said. "Sorry about that. I've been-"

"Busy, I know," she said with a smile. Then she turned serious. "You know you can talk to me about anything any time right?"

"Yeah I know," I said. "Thanks Bon-Bon."

I always called her Bon-Bon because when I was four and she was six, I had trouble saying whole names. I tried saying her name over and over again until I just got frustrated and ended up calling her Bon-Bon since the first part of her name was the only thing I could say.

Bonnie smiled and looked past me, then glanced over at Elena who was trying hard not to stare. I followed her gaze over my shoulder at Matt and Tyler then looked back at Elena sympathetically. She and Matt had dated for a while, but she needed a break after our parents died. I couldn't blame her. I may have done the same with my boyfriend...well I did do the same, but it was mostly for a different reason.

Matt shut his locker after staring at Elena for a while and walked down the hall after she waved at him. Tyler shrugged at us and waved, and then followed Matt down the hall while Elena sighed.

"He hates me," she said sadly.

"He doesn't hate you," Bonnie said. "He just-"

"Sammie!" a happy voice exclaimed. I turned just in time for my happy blonde friend to wrap her arms around me tightly in a hug. "Oh my god! How are you?! I know I just saw you like two weeks ago, but I missed you! And Elena!" She pulled Elena into a hug. "I haven't seen you in a while. It's so good to see you!"

"We're good, Caroline," Elena answered with a small smile. I nodded in confirmation when Caroline looked at me.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Much better," Elena told her. Caroline said something along the lines of poor thing before hugging Elena again.

"Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later," she said after letting Elena go.

"Guess I'm invisible," Chastity mumbled as she walked away.

"Oh you're not invisible, she just didn't see you," Bonnie told her.

"Yeah. Invisible," she said. I rolled my eyes at my drama queen friend and the four of us started walking down the hall, but I stopped short when someone came into view. The three turned and looked at me with confusion on their faces.

"Sam? You okay?" Elena asked worriedly. I nodded, still staring down the hall. She looked and saw who I saw, who I didn't want to walk by. Chastity and Bonnie saw too.

"Oh," Chastity said. "Don't worry. You don't have to talk to him if you don't want to."

"Tell that to him," I sighed as he saw me and began walking down toward us.

"Come on," Elena said wrapping an arm around me. She walked on my left side while Bonnie walked on my right and Chastity walked in front of us.

"Sam," Adam started.

"Nope, she needs her space," Chastity told him.

"I just-"

"No. You hurt my best friend once, I'm not giving you a second chance to."

"Chas-"

"Shut it!" Chasitity turned on him, gesturing for us to go ahead without her.

Elena, Bonnie, and I turned the corner while Chastity stayed back and began yelling at Adam in the middle of the hall. Adam Hanson. My first boyfriend. My first heartbreak.

* * *

><p>"Hold up," Bonnie said suddenly as we kept walking down the hall. Elena and I stopped with her and looked at her expectantly for an answer to why she stopped us. "Who's this?"<p>

Elena and I followed her gaze into the office and saw who she was looking at. A fairly tall guy in a black leather jacket talking to the secretary, with his back to us.

"All I see is back," Elena said.

"And brown hair," I added.

"Seattle," Bonnie said. "And I'm guessing he plays guitar."

"What?" I asked with a smile.

"It's her whole psychic thing," Elena reminded me. I nodded remembering over the summer when Bonnie told me that her Grams told her their ancestors were from Salem and that they had some witch blood in them to this day. I could tell she was taking this whole witch thing a lot more seriously now than she had over the summer.

Elena and Bonnie were talking about the 'hot' back when I noticed Jeremy walking past us and into the guys' bathroom, looking less than his best. Elena glanced at me and furrowed her eyebrows worriedly.

"You okay Sam?" she asked me.

"I...I think we should go talk to Jeremy," I told her. She got a look on her face saying she knew what I was talking about.

"We'll be right back," she said to Bonnie. Bonnie nodded then Elena followed me into the boy's bathroom just in time to see Jeremy put eye drops in his eyes. Elena marched right up to him when she spotted what he was doing and grabbed his face, looking at his eyes.

"Great, first day of school hasn't even started and you're already stoned," she said sounding very unhappy. I knew she wasn't and I wasn't very much either.

Jeremy pulled away from Elena's grip.

"I'm not," he tried to argue without looking at either of us.

"Where is it?" Elena asked as she began looking through his pockets. Jeremy tried pushing her hands away. "Is it on you?"

"Stop! Just stop, you need to chill yourself Elena," Jeremy said. He then glanced at me. "Are you gonna say something too?"

"I don't know what to say Jeremy," I admitted as Elena kept searching his pockets. "Nothing other than that this needs to stop."

"Sam's right and by the way, 'chill myself?' Is that stoner talk? Dude you are so cool," Elena said sarcastically.

"Elena would you back off! You're acting crazy."

"You have not seen crazy Jeremy," I mumbled.

"She's right, again. I gave you a summer pass for this, both of us did, but we are done watching you destroy yourself," Elena lectured him.

"And you know she's serious. She'll be there to ruin your buzz every time," I told him.

Jeremy started arguing with Elena while I stood by the door, not really sure what to say. Elena was right, Jeremy couldn't keep doing this because it wasn't just hurting him, but us too. I also knew that lecturing him wasn't the way to go. He would just tune us out. I looked away when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was a text message from Chastity.

**I just saw a MAJOR hawtie in the hallway. New guy, come see!**

I smiled, rolling my eyes, and looked back at my older siblings.

"I'm gonna go, guys," I said. Elena glanced at me and nodded, then went back to lecturing Jeremy. I sighed and slipped out of the bathroom.

"Oh crap," I said bumping into someone's hard chest. "Sorry, I really should pay attention to where I'm-" I looked up at saw one of the most handsome guys in the world. Light brown hair, deep green eyes, perfect nose and jaw line. Not to mention he was very muscular. "Going."

He seemed to be staring at me with as much surprise as I was at him before he shook his head the slightest bit. I blushed a little and looked down. Oooh nice shoes, I thought.

"I'm Samantha Gilbert," I blurted before I could stop myself. He furrowed his eyebrows slightly before sticking his hand out to me.

"Stefan Salvatore," he said as I shook his hand. "Very nice to meet you Samantha."

"Nice to meet you too," I smiled. He looked at where I just came from and a small smiled formed on his lips.

"Is that...the men's room?" he asked. I looked from him back at the bathroom where I had been watching Elena lecture Jeremy about the pot.

"No, I mean yeah," I stuttered a bit. "Um...this isn't weird at all."

"Not at all," he chuckled.

"I'm gonna...I'm gonna go to class now and…yeah," I said stepping to the side to get around him. He went the same way and we both smiled. We both stepped to the other side and laughed. He stepped against the wall and let me go past him.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. I walked down the hall quickly, trying to make my blush go down. I looked over my shoulder and saw he was still looking at me intensely. I turned the corner and went to my class, completely forgetting that I was supposed to find Chastity.

I walked into my history class with a sigh. By the looks of it, there wasn't going to be anyone I knew in here. That's all right. It was never too late to make new friends. I walked over to a seat and sat down on it, taking out a notebook and writing down the notes on the board.

"Hey," a familiar voice greeted, making me clench my eyes shut and pray that I was just imagining it. When I looked up, it was a huge let down.

"Hey," I said just to be polite. I said in a way that didn't opt for conversation, so I was really hoping he could take the hint. Unfortunately, the seat next to me was empty and he took the liberty of filling it.

"So... how have you been?" he asked. I looked back down at my notebook.

"Adam-"

"I know, I know. Stupid question. Of course you haven't been good," he said scolding himself slightly. "And it's mostly my fault. What I did... WHEN I did it, it was all just a horrible stack up meant for disaster. I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did. I'm really sorry."

"Look...I know you're trying to make things right, but I just need time," I sighed.

"Right," he said. "I get it. A couple months...isn't enough. Especially when you had other things to deal with. Knowing you, you weren't thinking about anything were you?"

"Tried not to," I admitted.

"Did it work?" he asked. I looked up at him again.

"Relatively."

* * *

><p>I sighed and tucked my pen and diary into my bag. After school, Elena and I came to the grave of our parents alone. Jeremy was who knows where with Vicki, Bonnie was visiting her Grams, Chastity and Olivia got sucked into shopping with their mom, and Caroline was...somewhere social. Most likely the grill with some of the girls on the cheerleading squad. So this was our last resort, mine at least.<p>

I missed my mom and dad. Normally on days like today, when there was nothing for us to do, they would come up with something to entertain us. They would take us to see a random movie, have us all cook something together just for the fun of it, or we would just talk to them. Mom always was there to listen to me when I needed to vent and dad always knew just how to cheer me up. Of course Elena was good at both of those and so was Jeremy, but it wouldn't be the same.

I wiped all thoughts of losing mom and dad from my mind when a tear slipped out of my eye and I leaned my head on Elena's shoulder. We both jumped, however, when we heard a very loud "CAW!" We both looked up and across from us, perched on top of a head stone, was a crow. A very black and eerie crow.

"Hi bird," Elena said weirdly. She closed her diary and stuffed it in her bag while I stood up. Fog began forming around and I felt goose bumps rise up on my arms.

I quickly turned around and let out a sigh of relief when I saw Elena.

"Can we go?" I asked her. She nodded, sensing I was getting freaked out.

"Shoo!" she said to the crow. It cawed at her and flew off.

"That's what I thought," she said victoriously.

We both let out a small sigh then and Elena turned to grab her bag. I whirled around when she gasped and I looked at our parent's head stone and there was that same crow.

"Um…" I began.

"That's the same one isn't it?" Elena asked.

"I think so," I said.

"Let's…"

"Get out of here?"

"Yeah."

We both took of running, but not before I noticed the outline of a man not too far from us- which made me run faster. I'm not sure how, but I ended up losing Elena when we went into the flock of trees next to the cemetery. I slowed down, trying to catch my breath and calm down. So I saw a freaky bird. It happens. Besides, it was just a bird. It's not like it was going to kill me or anything. And what about that guy? I was so sure I saw someone, why was he just standing there? Was he there to hurt Elena or I?

I shook my head. I was way over thinking that whole thing.

* * *

><p>Later, when she and I finally met back up at home, Elena told me about how she had bumped into Stefan at the cemetery after she and I got separated. They got to talking more and she thinks now that she may like him a little bit. I smiled at her when she asked if she knew who I was talking about.<p>

"I met him earlier today, I meant to tell you," I said. "He seemed really sweet and very gentlemanly. I think you two would make a good couple."

"He just got to town, let him meet other people first, Sam," Elena smiled.

"Oh no, if he meets other people then he'll miss out on you," I told her. "You are an amazing girl and you deserve happiness. Especially after what happened…"

"You deserve it just as much as I do," she said.

"I think you two would be better together," I said. "Besides, you know me. I like my real bad boys."

"Which isn't good for a good girl," she teased. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"What time did Bonnie want us to meet her?" I asked.

"Um…in ten minutes actually. We should go," she said. Jenna walked in then.

"Hey we're meeting Bonnie at the grill," I told her.

"Okay," she said as she continued walking into the kitchen. She stopped then. "Hold on, I got this. Don't stay out too late. It's a school night," she said looking proud. I smiled at her.

"Well done, Aunt Jenna," Elena complimented. Jenna smiled and continued walking into the kitchen.

I patted my pockets, searching for my phone and hoping I didn't leave it up in my room, when Elena picked up her keys and the doorbell rang. I furrowed my eyebrows. Who would that be? I sighed when I failed to find my phone and concluded that I left it upstairs after all.

"I've gotta run up and get my phone," I sighed. "Can you get the-"

"On it," Elena said as she walked to the door. I nodded and went up the stairs quickly so I could grab my phone. When I got up in my room, I spotted my phone on top of my dresser right next to the window. I strolled over and grabbed it, but jumped and yelped when a thud sounded against the window.

"Sam?!" Elena called up the stairs. I let out a breath when I saw it was just a bird now standing on the tree branch next to the window. "Sam, you okay?!"

"I'm fine!" I said. "Just…a bird outside scared me is all. I'll be right down."

"Okay."

I blew some air out of my cheeks and rolled my shoulders. I really needed to calm down a little bit. I glanced at the bird quickly before walking toward my door, but froze and did a double take. That…no. That couldn't be…the SAME bird….could it? I stepped closer to the thing as I tried to figure it out. I didn't know what it was, but for some reason the bird held some familiarity. It seemed to be staring at me too and the look it was giving me sent chills down my spine. I shook my head and finally left my room, going down the stairs and kicking that bird off my mind.

"Sorry Lena," I said as I tried thinking of an excuse for taking so long. "Couldn't find my phone…."

I drifted off when I noticed Stefan standing in the doorway with Elena.

"Oh," I said with a smile. "Hey Stefan."

"Hey Samantha," he greeted back.

"Call me Sam," I said with a small wave. "Everyone does. Besides I think Samantha is kind of a mouth full."

"Alright," he chuckled. "Sam it is." He seemed to notice Elena with her keys and jacket in hand. "I'm sorry, were you two about to go somewhere?"

"Uh, yeah," I answered. "We were meeting a friend. Do you wanna come with?"

"Sure," Stefan said looking at Elena. "I'd love to."

We got to the grill and I thought something was going to go down since Matt came over after Elena and Stefan walked in behind me, side by side. Thankfully he only came over to introduce himself to Stefan and he played nice. I didn't really think Matt would start anything, not in public at least, that was more of a Tyler thing to do.

* * *

><p>Bonnie, Elena, Stefan and I got a table and Caroline joined us- obviously for Stefan- and we got to talking. We found out that he was actually born in Mystic Falls, he moved around a lot, he was living with his uncle currently, he didn't really have siblings he talked to, and his parents passed away. A lot of his attention was divided mostly between Elena and I, but I noticed a certain look in his eye when he looked at her so a small matchmaking plan formed in my mind. I knew Elena broke up with Matt not that long ago and Matt was still having a hard time dealing with it, but I was determined to make my sister happy again.<p>

I would work on Matt when the opportunity presented itself; right now there was a perfect one right in front of me.

"So Stefan," Caroline piped up, obviously trying to take his attention away. "If you're new, then you don't know about the party tomorrow night."

"It's a back to school thing around here and it's…not that big of a deal, but it'd give you a chance to meet new people," I said. He smiled.

"Yeah you should totally come," Caroline said brightly. He glanced at Elena before looking down, thinking it over. I smiled to myself.

"Elena will be there," I added not-so-slyly. Her eyes widened and her cheeks went red as she looked at me. He nodded.

"Sure," he said finally. "I'll be there."

* * *

><p>"Going to the party tonight?" Adam asked me the next day at school. I sighed and got out my notebook as I sat down in my desk.<p>

"Yeah, I am. I invited someone, so I've gotta show up," I told him. If I wanted to get past things with him, then I was going to have to talk to him.

"Who did you invite?" he asked an obvious jealousy to his tone.

"Stefan Salvatore," I told him.

"The new guy? Why?"

"Because it'd give him a chance to meet people and he seems pretty cool, so yeah. That and he really seems to like Elena so I was thinking that I could hook them up."

"Playing matchmaker again, huh?" he said the jealousy disappearing.

"She needs to be happy," I said.

"So do you."

"Well…if I can make my siblings happy again, then it's a start for me," I said. "And I'm starting tonight."

* * *

><p>I was chatting with Elena and Bonnie later that night at the party. Bonnie and I were currently double-teaming Elena, trying to make her admit that she had a forming crush on the new guy.<p>

"Okay so he's a little pretty," she finally said.

"More than pretty," Bonnie said. "He's got that romance novel stare. Stefan looked deep into her eyes, piercing her very soul!"

Elena and I laughed at her dramatic romance novel statement.

"Where is he anyway?" I asked looking around.

"I don't know," Bonnie said.

"Shouldn't you know? You're the psychic one after all," Elena teased. Bonnie's face brightened up.

"Right, I forgot," she said. "Give me a sec. Grams says I have to concentrate."

"Would a crystal ball be helpful madam Bennett?" I asked playfully handing her an empty beer bottle.

"That actually might," she said with a smile. She began to take it from me when she froze when her hand and my hand were both still on it, and she got this look on her face. One that looked like she was….almost scared.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked.

Bonnie hand flew back to her side and she stared at me for a minute.

"That was weird," she said. "When I touched you, I saw a crow."

"A crow?" I asked, smile disappearing from my face. A crow? Please tell me she was kidding.

"A crow," she repeated. "There was fog and a man."

Elena looked freaked out while I furrowed my eyebrows. A crow….fog…..and a man. No, that couldn't be. She wasn't at the cemetery the other day with Elena and I. This was definitely starting to freak me out more and more.

"I'm drunk," she said suddenly. "It's the beer talking. Nothing psychic about it. Yeah? Okay, I'm gonna get a refill."

She walked away, leaving Elena and I alone together.

"How could she have-"

"I have no idea," Elena said. We watched her walk away until she was out of our sights and we turned back, both of us jumping when we noticed Stefan was by us now.

"You came!" I exclaimed happily.

"You asked, I came," he said. I smiled and looked from him to Elena, both of who were keeping quiet and trying not to smile too much at each other.

"Well, I am going to go look for Jeremy or Chastity," I said. "Enjoy!"

"I'm not sure, but I think your little sister may be trying to set us up," I heard Stefan say after I walked away.

"Yeah, there's no doubt she is. It's not the first time she's tried to set me up with someone."

I smirked to myself slightly. She knew what I was up to. I walked around looking for anyone I recognized when I saw Jeremy sitting alone, watching Vicki with Tyler. I sighed and decided that it was time to make him happy.

"Hey," I said cheerfully as I plopped down next to him.

"Hey," he mumbled distractedly.

"So," I sighed. "Vicki."

"Look don't start with this," he said. "I know how you and Elena feel about her-"

"I wasn't going there," I defended. "It's just…it's not her. I just don't think you should be chasing after someone who keeps stringing you along like she does when it seems like she has absolutely no intentions of getting back with you."

"How did you know that we-"

"I'm not stupid, Jeremy," I told him. "I know you. I see the way you look at her and you were with her all the time over the summer."

"Yeah," he said. "I do…. really care about her but it's just….Tyler this and Tyler that. Come to think of it, they've been in the woods for a while."

"Jeremy, don't do-"

I cut myself off when he walked into the woods in the direction Vicki and Tyler went. I let out a breath and went after him. I finally caught up to him just in time to hear Vicki yell at Tyler.

"Go Tyler, just get the hell away from me," she said. I rushed over in time to see Jeremy standing defensively in front of Vicki.

"Wow," Tyler said. "Vicki Donovan says no. That's a first."

"Just get out of here Lockwood," Jeremy said. Tyler rolled his eyes and they landed on me when I walked up beside Jeremy.

"You guys okay?" I asked crossing my arms. Tyler smirked and looked at Jeremy.

"Actually Sam, I've got a lot of tension in my neck. Mind helping me take care of it?" he asked with a flirty smile.

"Leave my little sister alone," Jeremy growled.

"Whatever," Tyler said. He walked away and I looked between Jeremy and Vicki, who clearly needed to talk. Tyler was over, it seemed. Maybe Vicki could turn around and be happy with Jeremy. Maybe she would be enough to pull him out of the drug phase. Maybe they both would get out of it together.

"I'll leave you two alone," I said. Jeremy nodded and I wandered off, but it wasn't long before I heard Vicki storm off and I was back by Jeremy's side.

"She won't talk to me," he said. "I've got to get her to talk to me. Please, Sam you're good at getting people to talk."

"I'll help you," I said. "Let's go find her."

* * *

><p>"Jeremy! Sam! What are you two doing?" Elena asked. I almost groaned. She must have seen us back at the party while we were looking for Vicki. She definitely did not have any hope for the girl and I didn't really want her convincing Jeremy to give up on her because that would drive him further away from us.<p>

"I don't want to hear it!" Jeremy snapped. He was a little drunk since he had a few drinks I couldn't stop him from throwing back.

"Yeah well too bad," Elena said.

"Lena please-"

Suddenly Jeremy fell forward.

"Vicki?" he asked with fright.

"You found her?" I asked walking over to him. I gasped when I saw her. She was lying unconscious on the ground; blood on her neck like something bit her.

"Oh my god," Elena gasped.

"No," Jeremy shook his head. He touched her neck and she gasped, eyes flying open and her hand gripped Jeremy's wrist. She started gasping for air.

"We've gotta take her back. She needs help," I said quickly. Jeremy nodded and picked her up while Elena and I led the way back to the party.

"Somebody help!" Elena and I called when we got back. Matt rushed over as soon as he saw it was his sister.

"Vicki? Vicki! What the hell! Somebody call an ambulance!" he shouted.

"Everybody back up, give her some space!" Tyler shouted as people started crowding more.

"She's loosing a lot of blood!" I said. "Something bit her neck! It's really bad, we need something to stop it."

Matt brought over a towel and pushed it against the bite. We all started talking to Vicki, trying to wake her up or get her talking a little at the least. As long as she keeps consciousness, it was a good sign that she would make it through. I just want to know what the hell happened to her.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

"What's going on?" Zach asked after his uncle Stefan rushed in to the house.

"Someone else was attacked tonight, Zach, and it wasn't me," Stefan replied instantly before running up the stairs to his room.

He came in his room, closing the door behind him, just in time for a crow to fly in and land on top of the bookshelf across from the balcony window. He stared at the crow for a moment before realization set on his face and he slowly turned to the balcony.

"Damon," he said solemnly.

A man with pitch-black hair and ice blue eyes smirked back at him.

"Hello brother," he replied.

The crow squawked, earning Stefan's attention briefly before he turned it back to the older brother he hadn't seen in quite some time.

"The crow's a bit much, don't you think?" he asked.

"Wait till you see what I can do with the fog," Damon said. Stefan stared at him for a moment.

"When'd you get here?" he asked suspiciously.

"Well, I couldn't miss your first day at school," Damon answered as he walked toward the bookshelf, setting his hand on a higher shelf. "Your hair's different. I like it."

"It's been fifteen years, Damon," Stefan said.

"Thank god. I couldn't take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look?" Damon chuckled. "Did not suit you."

He walked away from one bookshelf to the other while his little brother watched him warily as if he would attack at any moment, which knowing Damon he very well could.

"Remember, Stefan, it's important to stay away from fads," Damon continued.

"Why are you here?" Stefan asked ignoring all the comments.

"I miss my little brother," Damon said raising his eyebrow, clearly not meaning it.

"You hate small towns. They're boring, there's nothing for you to do," Stefan pointed out. Damon scoffed.

"I've managed to keep myself busy," he said.

"You know you left that girl alive tonight. That's very clumsy of you."

"Ah and that could be a problem...for you."

Stefan stared at him, shaking his head slightly.

"Why are you here now?" he demanded.

"I could ask you the same question," Damon said almost teasingly. "However, I'm fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word...Elena."

Damon smirked slightly at his brother, who kept a hard stare on Damon. He sighed.

"She took my breath away. Elena," he continued. "She's a dead ringer for Katherine. But, like you I'm sure, there's another little word that I wasn't expecting at all and this one left me absolutely stunned and breathless. Samantha."

Stefan stiffened at the mention of her name.

"Now, Samantha. Dear, sweet, little Samantha just stopped me in my tracks. She could pass for Elizabeth any day. And how ironic is it that even now, the two of them come out as sisters? It's just mind bottling. I felt exactly as I did the day we met Elizabeth and that feeling isn't something that's easy to channel," Damon explained. "Is it working? Being around the two of them? Being in their world, does it make you feel alive?"

"Elena's not Katherine and Sam is not Elizabeth," Stefan said shaking his head.

"Well let's hope not," Damon said walking in front of Stefan. "We both know how that ended. Now tell me, when's the last time you had something stronger than a squirrel?"

"I know what you're doing, Damon, and it's not going to work," Stefan said as he turned away.

Damon hit Stefan's chest, trying to rile him up.

"Come on, don't you crave a little," Damon taunted.

"Stop it."

"Let's do it. Together. I saw a couple girls out there," Damon said as he hit Stefan again. "Or let's just cut to the chase. Let's just go straight for Elena! No, you get Elena. I'll take the sweeter one, I'll take Sam. You've smelled her right? She smells absolutely divine, her blood must be top of the line."

"Stop it!" Stefan shouted as he shoved his brother back.

"Imagine what their blood must taste like!" Damon shouted back.

Stefan turned his face away, feeling the veins pop out around his eyes and his fangs extend.

"I can!" Damon huffed.

"I said stop!" Stefan shouted, his face completely vamped out.

He growled and charged at his brother, sending the both of them out the window. After he landed, Stefan got up noticing that Damon wasn't anywhere near him. He looked up to the window, seeing it shattered and then turned when he heard Damon.

"I was impressed," he said from the hedge. "I give it a six, missing style but I was pleasantly surprised. Very good with the whole face and the-" He playfully imitated Stefan's growling before laughing. "-thing. It was good."

"You know it's all games, Damon, but wherever you go, people die," Stefan said walking toward him.

"That's a given," Damon said bluntly.

"Not here," Stefan said. "I won't allow it."

"I take that as an invitation," Damon smirked.

"Damon, please," Stefan begged. "After all these year, can't we just give it a rest?"

"I promised you an eternity of misery," Damon said simply. "So I'm just keeping my word."

"Just stay away from Elena," Stefan begged. "And stay away from Sam."

"Where's your ring?" Damon asked looking at Stefan's hand. He inhaled sharply. "Oh yeah, sun's coming up in a couple of hours and, poof. Ashes to ashes."

Stefan looked sadly at his brother, just wishing for the old him to return. Damon chuckled.

"Relax," Damon said. "It's right here."

He held out Stefan's ring in his hand, allowing Stefan to take it from him slowly and slide it back on his finger. Then Damon grabbed Stefan by the throat, eyes black and veins around. He threw Stefan off to the side. Stefan rolled on his back, Damon standing over him.

"You should know better than to think you're stronger than me," Damon said darkly. "You lost that fight when you stopped feeding on people. I wouldn't try it again."

They heard noises coming from the house and Damon chuckled a little, a smirk accompanying it.

"I think we woke Zach up," he began walking away from Stefan, leaving him lying on the ground. "Sorry Zach."

Stefan watched as his brother walked away from him, breathing heavily, and dreading the things he knew his brother was planning on doing.

* * *

><p><strong>-Sam Again-<strong>

The ambulance along with animal control and the police finally made it and loaded Vicki into the car. I held Matt's hand comfortingly. I had managed to convince Elena and Jeremy to let me go with him because there was no way I was going to let him be alone. Not after what happened to his sister. I knew what it felt like to lose someone and I wanted to be there for Matt if…if something bad happened and Vicki didn't make it. I was praying to every god I could think of to let her make it, but sometimes fate was cruel.

"Both of you are family?" the paramedic asked.

"Even if she wasn't, would you really let someone her size be alone around here after what just happened?" Matt asked the guy. He just grunted and looked me up and down, a little too perverted for my taste, and let us both in the back of the van next to Vicki. Matt stared at her with wide, scared eyes.

"Hey," I said softly as the car started moving. "It's okay. She'll be okay."

"I hope you're right," he whispered. I put my hand on his shoulder. God please let her be okay.

* * *

><p>"Jenna called," I said walking back into the hospital room. The doctors had gotten Vicki patched up right away when we got to the hospital and they did a blood transfusion since she lost so much. Right now, she was asleep in bed and Matt was sitting by her side. "She'll be here to pick me up in about fifteen minutes."<p>

Matt just nodded and looked back at Vicki.

"Thank you for coming here with me," he said after a moment. I sat down in the chair next to him and smiled sadly.

"You needed someone here with you," I said. "I just…I couldn't let you be alone for this."

"And I'm glad that's in your nature," he said. "I think I would have lost it if you weren't here for me."

Soon Vicki's eyes fluttered open and Matt perked up.

"Vick," he whispered. "Hey, it's okay."

"You're gonna be okay, Vicki," I whispered.

"Matt. Sam," she whispered weakly.

"Hey don't try to talk, okay?" Matt said.

"Save your energy," I said. "You're gonna be fine."

"Vampire," she said, fear lacing her voice.

Matt and I looked at her weirdly for a moment before glancing at each other. Did….did she just say vampire?


	2. The Old Comet

"Hey I looked for you at the party last night," Adam said after he sat down.

"Oh, sorry about that. Chastity said the same thing, I just...I got a little held up."

"I heard. Brian and I took off a little bit before that all went down. How is Vicki? Do you know?"

"The doctors said that with rest, she should be fine," I said leaving out the part where she woke up a little after getting patched up and said vampire. I didn't need people to think she was losing it. She was a little drunk, that's probably why she said it anyway.

"That's good," he said. "Really good. Anyway...are you going to see the comet tomorrow?"

"Of course, I helped organize the event," I said. "I'll probably go with Chastity and Bonnie since Elena's probably gonna be with Stefan."

"Oh, I almost forgot about that," he said with a grin. "How did your matchmaking work out?"

"Well he came over last night and they talked for a long time, so I'm hoping something will become of it," I said. "If not, then I'll just have to work my magic and make something happen."

* * *

><p>"So I was thinking something tomboyish," Chastity said. "You know, surprise people by being the opposite of what they would expect me, a blonde, to be. What do you think?"<p>

"I think whatever you want to do would work," I told her. She was asking me about the outfit she was going to wear to see the comet tomorrow night. Normally she wouldn't worry about these types of things, but it was different since Jeremy was actually going to be there.

We walked around the campus toward the parking lot until Elena and Matt came into view. She and I walked up to them quickly and I hopped on Matt's back.

"Hey Matty," I greeted with a smile.

"Hey short stuff," he greeted with a clear fake smile. I let myself down and he turned. "I wanna thank you again for being there with me last night. It means a lot."

"It was no problem," I said. "I'm really glad she's going to be okay."

"Yeah," he said. "Anyway, I'm actually about to go back there now and see if she's awake. I wanna know what really happened last night. I'll see you later."

"Bye Matt, let me know what she says," I said as he walked away.

"You got it!"

"Give her a hug for me if you can!" Chasitity called after him. I looked at Elena who seemed a little down. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" I asked her. She nodded and forced a smile.

"I'll live," she said.

* * *

><p>"I think he's a grade A asshole," I muttered on the phone. Jenna called me after her conference with Mr. Tanner about Jeremy and it turns out he's not very supportive of Jenna being our sole guardian. Well that wasn't really his choice now was it?<p>

"I can see why Jeremy doesn't want to go to his class," she said. "The man's not even my teacher and I felt intimidated. I can't imagine what people going in there must feel like every day."

"Well he's not my teacher, thank god, but I know he's been giving both Jeremy and Elena a hard time which just makes me mad," I said. "I really don't think teacher was a good job for him to take up."

"I think he'd do a better job as an interragator, he really knows how to put people on the spot," she replied. "Anyway, I'm gonna go and let you hang out with the girls. That is where you are right? You're not pulling a Jeremy on me?"

"He went to see Vicki this morning, nothing too bad," I said. "And yes, I am with Bonnie, Caroline, Chastity, and Elena. Say hi guys," I held out the phone for them.

"Hey Jenna," they all said.

"That was comforting, thank you Sam," she said.

"No problem, Aunt Jenna," I said.

"Let me know if you see your brother too. I have to have a few words with him," she said.

"Right," I said with a smile. I set my phone on the table after she hung up and sighed.

"Anyway, I was talking to Grams and she said the comet was a sign of impending doom," Bonnie said after I did. "The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was a lot of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity."

"That's what my aunt said," Chastity said.

"Yeah and then you poured both your Grams and your aunt another shot and they told you both about the aliens," Caroline said sarcastically to Bonnie and Chastity. Both of them rolled their eyes at her comment. Caroline looked at Elena then. "So then what?"

"So then nothing," Elena replied.

"You and Stefan talked all night?" she asked doubtfully. "There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

"Nope. We didn't go there," Elena told her.

"Besides I would have heard something," I added with a wrinkled nose. "Glad I didn't."

Elena elbowed me playfully with a smile while I smirked at her and took a sip of my iced tea.

"Not even a handshake?" Caroline asked. "I mean, Elena, we are your friends. Okay? You are supposed to share the smut."

"Gross," Chastity said.

"We just talked for hours."

"Okay what is with the blockage? Just jump his bones already!" Caroline said, clearly getting frustrated while Bonnie and Chastity looked at her with annoyance and disbelief. "Okay it's easy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Sex."

"Is that all you think about?" Chasitiy asked her. Caroline gave her a look.

"Profound," Elena said. Then she pursed her lips and started picking up her stuff.

"Where are you going?" I asked her.

"Where are WE going," she corrected me as she stood up. "I'm your ride. And Caroline's right, it is easy. If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying I was going to do. So come on."

"Yuck I hope I don't hear noises," I whined as she took me by the arm and led me toward the car.

"Have fun!" Chastity called after us. One of us would.

* * *

><p>"Can you just do me a favor and try not to be too loud with the noises," I begged as Elena and I walked up the path to the entrance of the Salvatore boarding house. She rolled her eyes.<p>

"I wasn't going to go there today," she said ringing the doorbell.

"Well either way," I said folding my arms across my chest. She smiled at me and knocked on the door when no one answered after she rang the doorbell. Er...chime...bells? Bells.

The door creaked open the slightest bit and Elena looked at me, confused. I shrugged and she poked her head in the house.

"Stefan?" she called stepping inside. I followed her lead, closing the door behind me. Inside the house was huge. Very modern, but had an old school aura to it. And by old school I mean...nineteenth century old school.

We walked further into the house, down the hall and Elena called Stefan again and got no answer again. Was he even here? A creaking noise came from behind us and we both turned around. The door was closed, wasn't it? How as it creaking? If that was even the door...

"Should we go?" I asked Elena. She didn't answer, she was still staring at the door. I looked and saw it was now wide open. I could have sworn I closed it. She stepped closer to it while I stayed in my place. How was it open when I closed it?

Suddenly a crow flew in, scaring the hell out of both of us. Elena turned and so did I, but into someone's chest. I gasped and took a couple steps back, my eyes meeting the brightest...no...iciest blue eyes I've ever seen. The guy in front of me was incredibly...handsome? No...hot? Sexy, for sure, mysterious. He had a dangerous aura to him as well and he seemed to be eyeing me with a lot of interest.

"W-we're sorry for barging in," I said quickly. "The door was..." I turned around and saw it was now closed. What the hell? "Open."

Elena looked at the door and noticed it closed too and her confusion showed on her face even more. I looked back at the man and he had a small smile playing on his lips, his eyes still on me with lots of...something. I couldn't put my finger on it. He then switched his eyes over to Elena.

"You must be Elena," he said to her. Then he looked back at me. "Which would make you Samantha."

We looked at him with wonder. How did he know our names? Who was he?

"I'm Damon," he said. "Stefan's brother."

"He didn't tell me he had a brother," Elena said.

"Well, Stefan's not one to brag. Please, come," he said leading us to the living room. "I'm sure Stefan will be along any second."

We stepped into the living room...no. This couldn't be the living room? This room was bigger than the whole bottom floor of my house alone!

"Wow," I said.

"This is your living room?" Elena asked.

"Living room, parlor, Sotheby's Auction," Damon said. "It's a little kitschy for my taste."

A small silence fell for a moment as I walked further in, eyes going around the room in wonder. I felt eyes on me, but chose to ignore them since I figured it was just Elena.

"I can see why my brother's so smitten," Damon said suddenly. "It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd never get over the last one."

That got my attention and I looked back at him to see Elena looking at him confused- again.

"Nearly destroyed him," Damon continued looking at me now.

"The last one?" I asked for Elena since she seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Yeah, Katherine," he answered. "His girlfriend?" He looked at Elena and realization set on his face. "Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet."

"Nope," Elena said uncomfortably looking up at the ceiling.

"Oops well, I'm sure it'll come up now," Damon said looking back at me. I looked back at him for a moment, trying to figure something out. For some reason I felt like he intended to tell Elena about Katherine, I just couldn't figure out why. "Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. I mean, that's how Katherine felt when Stefan failed to tell her about Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, the first love," Damon said casually. "Got his heartbroken by that one. Then Katherine comes along, steals his heart, and that one didn't end so well either."

I tilted my head the slightest bit at him. He was still looking at me when he told Elena that. Could he tell I was wondering why he told her? What was it about this guy that was so familiar too? Since I came face to face with him I couldn't help but feel like...I've been around him before.

"We all know how those relationships end," Damon continued.

"You say it like every relationship is doomed to end," I said.

"I'm a fatalist," he said to me. We stared at each other for a moment before I saw Stefan walk up behind Damon and Elena. "Hello Stefan."

How did Damon...Stefan barely made a noise and he didn't even turn around. It could have been their uncle Zach coming in for all he knew.

"Elena, Sam," Stefan said. "I didn't know you two were coming over."

"I know, we should have called," Elena said apologetically as she began walking toward him. "I just-"

"Oh don't be silly. You're welcome any time. Both of you," Damon said looking from Elena back at me. "Aren't they Stefan?"

Stefan just stared at his brother, almost glared, and didn't answer.

"You know, I should break out the family photo albums. Or some home movies," Damon said. "BUT I have to warn you both, he wasn't always such a looker."

"Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Sam," Stefan said. Then he looked at his brother with that same look from before. "Nice to see you."

"Yeah, we should probably go," I said rubbing the back of my neck. I could sense a lot of tension between the two brothers and it was honestly making me a little uncomfortable. Besides, it was obvious Stefan didn't want us around Damon for whatever reason. I looked at Damon. "It was nice to meet you, Damon."

"Yeah, it was," Elena agreed. Damon took her hand and kissed it lightly.

"Nice meeting you, Elena," he said. I walked up, ready to leave, when he took my hand unexpectedly.

"And it was great meeting you too, Sam," he said kissing the top of my hand, his lips lingering there a while longer than Elena's. I stared into his eyes for a while even after he let go of my hand when Elena cleared her throat, motioning with her head that we should head out.

I blinked and walked after her, stopping when she stopped in front of Stefan who was staring at Damon with hard eyes.

"Stefan?" Elena said. He didn't move his eyes or anything. "Stefan?"

He finally stepped aside to let us pass, and returned his eyes to Damon.

"Come on," I said to Elena when she didn't move. She walked with me to the door and we got out as quickly as we could. That...had to be one of the weirdest things I've ever been through.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV, after Elena and Sam leave-<strong>

Damon whistled after the door closed, entertained with Stefan's cold eyes on him still.

"Great gal," he said talking about Elena. "Her sister, though, she's got spunk and she's even more breath taking up close. I like her. You, on the other hand, look pooped."

Stefan ignored the comment and stepped down into the room.

"Did you over-exert yourself today?" Damon asked. "Let me guess! Hospital."

"Someone had to clean up your mess," Stefan told him, finally talking as he walked more into the room past Damon.

"Well were you successful?" Damon asked. "Did the powers of persuasion work? Remember if you don't feed properly, none of those little tricks work."

"How long were Elena and Sam here?" Stefan asked.

"Were you worried, Stefan? Scared we may be doomed to repeat the past?" Damon asked chuckling. "Isn't that why you play your little game, 'I'm a high school human'?"

"I'm not playing any game."

"Of course you are. We both know the closest you'll ever get to humanity is when you rip it open and feed on it."

"What kind of game are you playing, Damon?" Stefan asked.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see, won't you?" Damon asked with a smirk. He walked out of the room then, leaving Stefan alone.

* * *

><p><strong>-Back to Sam-<strong>

"He's on the rebound for the second time, and has raging family issues," Elena said. We were back at home and she was telling Aunt Jenna about our visit to Stefan's place.

"Well at least it's an ex-girlfriend," Jenna said positively. "Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues or amphetamine issues."

I laughed a bit and set the hot fudge down on the counter after I thought I had enough on my ice cream.

"His brother seemed to take an interest in Sam," Elena said.

"Oh really?" Jenna asked with a sly smile while I rolled my eyes. "Older or younger?"

"Older," I answered. "Older than me. Older than Stefan."

"Was he hot?"

"Very," I admitted. "But there was just something about him. Something not very trustworthy."

"Well if he was telling you about things Stefan wouldn't even tell you, then I wouldn't call it UNtrustworthy," Jenna said.

The door opened and Jeremy stepped in, making Jenna go in mother mode.

"Jeremy," she said. He ignored her and started going upstairs. Jenna rushed toward him. "Jeremy, where were you?"

"More stoner stories, look Jenna I get it. You were cool. And so that's- that's cool."

I sighed in disappointment. He was high.

"Oh no- no, no no!" she chucked her apple at him, which made me snicker a litlte.

"Ow, why?! Why- why did you do that?"

"Listen up! Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion," Jenna said.

"Parental authority, I like it," Jeremy said clearly not taking her seriously. "Sleep tight." He continued up the stairs while Jenna glared after him. Elena sighed and I shook my head. I really needed to get him out of that hole he's in.

* * *

><p>Chastity and I were walking around the town square, handing out programs for the town comet event. It took forever to create these things since Caroline was over my shoulder disapproving nearly every thing I did. I finally just stepped aside and told her to do what she wanted. I admit I lost patience faster than usual, but that's just because I was still thinking about how things went at Stefan's house and I was worried about Elena.<p>

From the sounds of it, Stefan was just on the rebound again but I didn't want to believe it at the same time. He seemed like a really nice guy and that was just Damon's side of things. I couldn't help but think that things were very different from Stefan's point of view.

"Would you like a program?" Chastity offered a program to a woman with her daughter as the walked to the center. The woman smiled thankfully and took the program. "So you met his older brother. Hot or not?"

"Definitely hot," I said. "Like I told Jenna though, there was just something weird about him."

"Well maybe I can see into it," she said. "You know how Bonnie's Grams has been telling her that she's a witch? Well I told my aunt and guess what she said?"

"You too?" I guessed with a smile as I handed a guy a program.

"Yeah," she said. "She said that my dad's side of the family is also descended from Salem. She said we're not as strong as Bonnie's line, but we're still pretty strong."

"And you believe that?" I asked.

"Why shouldn't I? There's so much I've predicted and it's like it comes to me in visions and stuff. And I could have sworn that I lit a candle up in my mind last night."

"And the evidence stacks up," I said. "You just might be."

"Oh relax, I don't really believe it," she said. "I think she's just trying to be as crazy as Bonnie's Grams."

"Maybe," I said.

* * *

><p>Later Chastity and I were walking around with our candles and Olivia after all the programs were handed out. We met up with Bonnie, Elena, and Caroline. Elena walked into Matt and he ended up lighting her candle while Adam came over and lit mine up.<p>

"Thank you," I smiled.

"You're welcome," he said. He looked at me and I smiled. "So..."

"Uh uh, don't even think about it Hanson," Chastity cut in. "You know you're not getting a second chance."

"Nice to see you Chastity," he said with a sigh. I noticed Elena then walk away and I was about to go by her when I saw Stefan right behind her. I stayed in place, knowing that they needed to talk about things and that if Elena needed anything, she would come by me.

I held my candle up a little more and zoned back into the world when Chastity and Adam's bickering got a little annoying.

"Okay guys," I said holding up a hand. "Let's just enjoy the night. As friends," I said with a sharp look at Adam. Then I noticed Elena walk away, leaving Stefan alone with a sad look on his face. "On second thought-"

"Elena needs you," Adam said knowingly.

"Go ahead."

"Promise not to kill him, Chas?"

"I'll do my best," she said. I sighed. That was the best I was going to get from her so I just walked away, stopping when I was about to pass Stefan.

"Let me talk to her," I said. "Things are just complicated right now and...I know she really likes you. Just give it a little bit of time."

"Thank you, Sam," he said with a small smile. I smiled back and continued after Elena.

* * *

><p>"I just don't know," Elena concluded as we came up to the grill where we agreed to meet everyone else. When I caught up to her, she told me about the small talk she had with Stefan and her doubts about having a relationship with him.<p>

"Look you really like him, I can see that," I said. "And you deserve to be happy, but he just got here Lena. He said he's not really close to his brother and that Katherine and Elizabeth were a long time ago, so cut him a little slack. It must be hard for him to open up after two heartbreaks. It just sounds like you're a little scared about where this is going to go because you're so used to getting hurt, just like him."

"You're right," she sighed. "I just feel like I need a little bit more time before I go into anything."

"It's your life," I said. "If you feel like you need more time, take more."

She nodded and smiled at me. We walked inside and sat down at a table where Tyler, Caroline, Bonnie, and Matt already were with Chastity, Adam, and Adam's best friend Brian. We sat and talked for a while when Jeremy came up to us asking if we'd seen Vicki.

"You're her stalker, you tell us," Tyler said.

"I can't find her," Jeremy said freaking out and he had reason to. After what happened to her not too long ago, her disapperaring right now wasn't very comforting.

"She probably found somebody else to party with," Tyler said. "Sorry pill pusher, I guess you've been replaced."

"What's with the pill pusher?" Elena asked him.

"Ask him," Tyler told her. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Jeremy expectandly.

"You wanna do this right now?" Jeremy asked.

"Are you dealing?" Elena asked him.

"She's never gonna go for you," Tyler said to Jeremy.

"She already did. Over and over and over again," Jeremy said to him, rubbing it in his face. Tyler's smirk vanished and Elena and I exchanged glances. Well the cat's out of the bag now.

"Yeah right," Tyler said.

"You slept with Vicki Donovan?" Caroline asked in disbelief. Matt gave her a look. "I mean, Vicki Donovan slept with you?"

"There's no way," Tyler said.

"And I didn't even have to force her," Jeremy added. What was that a reference to? Was that what Tyler was doing in the woods with Vicki that night?

"What the hell is he talking about, Ty?" Matt asked Tyler.

"Nothing, man. Just ignore him, he's a punk," Tyler said bitterly. I could tell Elena was getting annoyed with this whole thing and she wanted to talk to Jeremy about that pill pusher comment, but all of this had to wait because Vicki was missing and given what happened before when she was alone, that wasn't a very good thing.

"You know what, let's just put all of this on hold and we all help find Vicki right now," I spoke up.

"Yeah I agree with Sam," Matt said.

"We'll check the bathrooms," Bonnie said as we began to split up.

"I'll check the square," Matt said.

"I'll come with you," Jeremy volunteered.

"Oh no, no, no," Elena said catching his arm. "You are coming with me."

"I'll look around here," I said. Elena nodded and walked away with Jeremy while I searched the grill for Vicki, hoping I wouldn't find her in the same state as before or worse.

* * *

><p>"Anyway, Bonnie gave Stefan her phone and email and bam! It happned just like that when they touched," Chastity said. Elena, Jeremy, and I had gone home after Vicki was found and I was sure she was okay. Caroline, Chastity, Olivia, and Bonnie stayed behind at the grill and now Chastity was telling me about how Stefan found Vicki and Bonnie freaked when she touched him because she saw and felt something bad and cold. Bonnie didn't tell Caroline, only Chastity because she felt like Chastity would understand better.<p>

"That's werid," I said. "Especially since it's not the first time something like that has happened to her."

"I feel like it's the witch thing," she said. "I can feel it too."

"Are you sure that's what it is? I mean with everything that happened to Vicki, maybe you guys are just freaked out is all."

"No, I'm positive of what it is. I'm just not sure if I think it because I'm sane or insane," she said. "Anyway, I gotta go. Olivia's bugging me to get off the phone. I'll talk to you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I said. "Tomorrow."

"Okay then. Bye."

"Bye," I closed my phone and set my phone on my dresser top and walked out of my room to get some water in time to hear Jenna break down about not being mom. I stepped in to Jeremy's room just as she sat down on his bed.

"This is just the fear talking," Elena assured her. "You're a little scared, that's all."

Realization crossed her face and she looked at me. I knew she was thinking about her relationship with Stefan then and I smiled a little at her.

"We all are," I said to her and Jenna.

"I have to go do something," Elena said. Jenna nodded understandingly. "But are you going to be okay?"

"Even if she's not I'm here," I said. Jenna smiled at the both of us and Elena got up with a smile, and left Jer's room. "Go get him."

"I will," she smiled. She left and I sighed, walking in and sitting on the bed next to Jenna.

"It's your mom," she said. "I feel like I need to be her to be successful with you, especially Jeremy."

"You don't," I said. "You and I both know that no one can replace her and you're doing a great job as it is. Jeremy...he'll make it through what he's going through. You did, didn't you?"

"Yeah," she said. "I did. Even when it seemed impossible. And I have your mom to thank for that."

"And Jeremy is going to make it through," I said. "He has us. He has you, he has Elena, and he has me. And we won't give up on him no matter what."

"I know we won't," she smiled. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed the top of my head. "I think I would die if you and Elena weren't here. I love you, Sammie."

"Love you too Aunt Jenna," I smiled. Jeremy would make it through this drug thing. Jenna would get her confidence up. Elena would work things out with Stefan and they would be happy. Then everything would get better. Right? Right.


	3. Friday Night Bites

**Okay, so I haven't properly introduced the story or anything. This whole thing was based off a single dream I had and I decided to write a story based on said dream. **

**Yes. I had a dream about the Vampire Diaries. I am weird like that. I've also had dreams about Naruto, House M.D., Pretty Little Liars, and Friday the 13th. Am I strange? Absolutely. Am I insane? Probably.**

**No matter, I hope you guys enjoy my insanity!**

* * *

><p>"Are you sure it's a good idea for Elena to be dating him so quickly?" Chastity asked me the next morning. "It seems like this all happened too quickly."<p>

She and I were currently hanging a huge banner for the homecoming rally in the hallway. I looked over at her after I finished hanging my side of the banner.

"Weren't you on Bonnie, Caroline, and my side just the other day when we were telling her to go for it?" I asked.

"Well now Bonnie and I think she should take it slow," she insisted.

"Is this about that whole touch thing?" I asked her.

"Look, we're just worried about her is all. Remember we were the same way when you started dating Adam."

"There was a reason for that," I said. "You guys knew he had a reputation for cheating on his girlfriends and you wanted me to be careful."

"And it wasn't fun for me to even think I told you so," she said. "Okay, I'll let it go. You said Elena's happy, right?"

"She was singing in the shower this morning," I smiled. "She hasn't done that since our parents…"

"I get it," she said. "She's happy, you're happy she's happy, and…I'm happy."

The way she said it didn't convince me fully and I was going to say something when my cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I flipped it open and read that I had one new text message from Elena. I opened it and smiled.

**Tell Chastity that at eight o'clock she, Bonnie, and Stefan are coming over for dinner. They need to get to know him more.**

"What are you doing later tonight?" I asked her casually. She bit her lip and hummed in thought.

"Nothing, I'm free."

"Perfect. Then you are coming over at eight for dinner," I said. "Elena wants you and Bonnie to come over so you can have some bonding time with Stefan."

"I….Come to think of it I think I do have something going on tonight," she said quickly.

"You liar, you just said you were free," I fought.

"I just remembered I…I have something-"

"Chas, you said you would let it go," I reminded her. "If you really want to prove that you're happy for Elena, then come tonight. You'll see Stefan isn't so bad."

She sighed, but nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll be there."

* * *

><p>"Hey Sam," Adam greeted as he sat in his desk next to me. "I saw the banner for homecoming. It's pretty cool, you did a great job."<p>

"Thanks," I smiled. "Caroline was supposed to help hang it up this morning, but she never showed and she didn't answer her phone- which is out of character for her. You haven't seen her at all today have you?"

"Nope," he said. "Maybe she got held up by her mom or something."

"Maybe," I sighed unconvinced.

"Hey, stop worrying so much. I'm sure Caroline's fine."

"Right," I nodded. "Sorry. It's just….I can't help it."

"I know you can't," he smiled sadly. "Anyway, practice starts up again today. I'm going. Are you?"

I bit my lip. He was talking about football practice for him and cheerleading for me. I honestly never loved cheerleading, it was more of an Elena and mom thing. Speaking of, I wonder if Elena was even going. She and I didn't go to camp over the summer for obvious reasons, but I wondered if she even remembered that practice starts up again today. Whether or not we were staying on the team wasn't really something we talked about. It was sort of the last thing on our minds actually.

"I honestly don't know," I said. "I really don't feel like I have to. Mom wanted me to join with Elena because she and Elena made such a big deal out of it and I guess she didn't want me to feel like I couldn't do it too."

"I remember you told me that," Adam said. "Look you said you wanted things to go back to normal right?" I nodded. "Maybe doing things you used to do would help?"

I stared at him for a minute, unsure of what he was trying to get me to do exactly. He blinked.

"I…don't mean between us too," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to make it sound-"

"Of course not."

"I just…I respect your choice," he said. "I won't try to change your mind. I don't deserve to."

Most girls would revel in seeing their cheater of an ex-boyfriend beat himself up about cheating on her, but I was never like other girls.

"Don't do that to yourself," I told him. "Even though you hurt me at the worst possible time, I can't stand to see you make yourself feel so bad. I know you're a good guy and you know you made a mistake, but there's no reason for you to linger over it."

He nodded, slightly sad, but a smile rose up and he chuckled. This made me smile in confusion.

"What?" I asked.

"You know, every other girl came after me with razor blades and lemon juice. You…..you're not."

The bell rang and we turned in our seats when the teacher came in and ordered us to take our notebooks out. When his back was turned, a folded piece of paper landed on top of my open notebook. It came from Adam's side of me and I opened it under my desk.

_**Give cheerleading one last try. If you hate it, I'll get off your back and watch it when Caroline comes after you.**_

I smiled and looked over at him. He was looking at me expectantly.

"Okay," I mouthed.

* * *

><p>"You're here!" Bonnie exclaimed when I walked up in a tank top and short shorts. I shrugged.<p>

"I got convinced," I said hugging her back when she hugged me. She pulled away with a smile and Elena came up to me next.

"Can't be sad girls forever, can we?" she asked. I shook my head and she pulled me into a hug.

"Let's get stretching," I said pulling my hair up in a ponytail when Elena let me go. The three of us sat down and began our stretches.

"Sorry I'm late!" a frantic Chastity shouted a while later as she ran up with her tank half way up. "Please don't kill m- oh Caroline's not here, thank god! Nobody tell on me!"

All the girls nodded and agreed to keep her late arrival a secret.

"Two things Chas. One, pull your shirt down. You're giving the guys a show," I said referring to the guys over at football practice who were ogling at Chastity.

She pulled her shirt up a little bit teasingly before yanking it down all the way and flipping them off and making them look away. "Two, where were you that you're so late."

"Making a side dish for tonight," she said. "If I'm coming over for dinner then I have to bring something. That's my mom's rule."

"Oh that reminds me, Bonnie, you're coming over for dinner tonight at eight," Elena said suddenly.

"I am?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah, you, Elena, Chastity, me, and Stefan," I told her. That made her smile drop and she looked down at her stretched out leg.

"Tonight's no good," she said.

"Stop that," I said. "Chastity tried to pull the same thing this morning when I invited her."

"Yeah Bonnie, you may as well give it up," she said. "It won't work. They're determined."

"Where is Caroline? Have you guys tried calling her?"

"Don't try to change the subject, Bonnie Bennett," Elena said. "You're coming over."

Bonnie sighed and her shoulders drooped.

"Fine," she said. "I'll come."

"Okay am I the only one getting a little freaked out by Caroline not being here still?" Chastity asked.

"I tried calling her, she's not answering," Olivia said as she came over by us.

"Where is she?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know," Elena said after she took a drink of water. "It's not like her."

"I'm gonna try her again," Olivia told us.

I sighed and leaned on Elena. Just then, a light blue convertible camaro drove up and in it were two very recognizable people.

"Uh…" Elena began. Bonnie, Olivia, and Chastity all turned and looked at the car.

"Oh my god," Olivia said. Caroline leaned over and kissed Damon on the lips. Oddly enough, I felt like yanking her off of him when she did and it kind of freaked me out feeling that way.

"That must be the mystery guy from the grill," Bonnie said.

"That's not a mystery guy," I said as Elena and I started to stand up seeing Caroline was finally here and all. "That's Damon Salvatore."

"Salvatore!" Bonnie gasped. "As in Stefan?"

Caroline smirked and got out of the car, clearly loving all the attention she was getting. She strutted over to us and smiled at Elena and I.

"I got the other brother," she said. Then to me mostly "Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all," I said biting back the insults. Seriously, this whole feeling I felt toward Caroline right now….wasn't like me. It..kind of scared me.

"Sorry I'm late girls! I, uh, was busy," she said.

I rolled my eyes as she started talking and looked over at Damon. He lifted his eyebrows and smirked at me. Then with a wink, he drove away. There was something about him that I didn't trust. I didn't know what it was. It was as weird as the feeling that I've seen him somewhere before. I ignored the feeling and finally started paying attention to Caroline.

She set the music up for our routine and ordered us to start. I looked around at the other girls and did my best to keep up, which was working out for me but I could tell it wasn't for Elena.

"Elena, sweetie, why don't you just observe today? 'Kay?" Caroline said with her 'friendly' smile. "Sam, you're doing great for not going to camp. Everyone else, keep going! Ok. Do it again, let's go!"

Elena walked back so she was behind all the other girls and tried doing what the rest of us were. I turned back forward and began doing the moves. I was really starting to get the hang of this now, but…it didn't feel the same as it did before.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

Stefan pulled on his long sleeve black shirt as he entered his room, but stopped after a couple steps when he saw his older brother sitting at his desk with his feet up.

"How were tryouts?" Damon asked. "Did you make the team?"

Stefan didn't say anything since he just noticed his journal was in Damon's hands, open.

"Very Emerson the way you reveal your soul with so many-"

Stefan sped toward him and snatched his journal out of Damon's hands.

"Adjectives," Damon finished with a small smirk. He chuckled at the look Stefan gave him.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked blankly.

"I've come to apologize," Damon replied sitting upright. "I've been doing some thinking, some soul searching and….I want us to start over. We need to put the past behind us."

He stood up while Stefan eyed him warily, clearly not believing a word Damon was saying.

"You're my little brother, and if you want to live a normal, happy human life….I want that for you. Maybe I can do it too. I can learn to be a non-living, living person. Maybe there's hope for the both of us."

Stefan just stared at him, waiting for the laugh or the 'NOT' part to come in. Just when he was expecting it, Damon broke his serious face and started laughing. Stefan nodded and looked off to the side. Damon continued laughing, walking past Stefan now, and slapped his back.

"You know, it doesn't have to be this way, Damon," Stefan said.

"Of course it doesn't," Damon said. "I saw Elena today, b.t.w- that means 'by the way'- she was at cheerleading practice with that cute yet sexy little sister of hers. The two of them looked so perky in their little short shorts. Just-" he smiled at the memory of seeing Samantha. He knew seeing Caroline kiss him bothered her, even if she didn't know it herself. He smirked inwardly when he saw his brother step forward. "Simmer down, I didn't even go near them. I've got my own cheerleader now. Ooh, that reminds me. I gotta run. I have a date. Sweaty palms-" he rubbed his hands together then blew in them. "-wish me luck."

He walked out of Stefan's room to go get Caroline while Stefan glared after his brother. Who knew what would happen to that poor girl later?

* * *

><p>"You explain it," Chastity said as Elena and I walked around the kitchen getting stuff ready for our dinner tonight while Bonnie listened to her more intently. "Last night, I'm watching 'Nine-O', commercial breaks come on and I'm like 'I bet it's that phone commercial' and sure enough it's that guy and the girl with the bench, he flies to Paris, and he flies back. They take a picture."<p>

"Oh come on," I said with a laugh. "That commercial's on a constant loop."

"Fine, well how about this? Today I'm obsessed with numbers. Three numbers. I keep seeing 8, 14, and 22. How weird is that?" she said.

"I've been seeing the same numbers," Bonnie said. Elena and I exchanged glances before looking back at our best friends.

"You have?" Chastity asked shocked.

"Yeah, they just keep flashing in my mind and it's just so weird!"

"Oh my god, guys," I said.

"Maybe we should play the lottery," Elena said with a serious face. Bonnie and Chastity gave us a look and we laughed.

"Have you talked to your aunt?" I asked Chastity. "Or your Grams, Bonnie?"

"They're just gonna say it's because we're witches," Chastity said while Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"I don't want to be a witch," Bonnie whined.

"Me neither. Do you want to be a witch?" Chastity asked me and Elena.

"I don't want to be a witch," I said. "And putting the food in a nice bowl, Elena, isn't fooling anybody."

"Hey, it's your fault too. You were too lazy to cook," she said.

"So were you," I shot back. "Okay, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?"

"Middle drawer on your left," Bonnie said as I walked toward the drawers. I looked at her and she just shrugged. So I opened the drawer she said and there were the serving spoons. I lifted one out of the drawer.

"Nailed it," Chastity commented.

"Okay so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times," Elena said.

"Yeah that's it," Bonnie said sarcastically.

The doorbell rang then and Bonnie and Chastity stiffened the slightest bit.

"Okay he's here," Elena said clapping her hands together. "Don't be nervous, you two."

"Yeah, just be your normal, loving selves," I said while they both looked at us with a face that screamed they wanted to get out of here. Elena went to answer the door while I picked up the last two plates.

"I'm gonna set these plates on the table," I said to the two as I walked out into the dining room.

* * *

><p>So this dinner….wasn't working out as well as I hoped. Stefan was at the head of the table while Elena was on his right and Bonnie on his left. I was sitting right next to Elena and Chastity was sitting across from me next to Bonnie. Both of them weren't speaking to Stefan, which made it all the more awkward. Poor Stefan really didn't think Bonnie liked him and this was doing nothing but confirming it.<p>

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Elena asked in an effort to start up a conversation.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right," Stefan replied. Elena smiled.

"He'll get used to you," I told him. "He's not used to people making him look bad. Personally, I think it was about time."

He smiled at me.

"You guys should have seen Stefan today," Elena said to all of us. "Tyler threw a ball right at him, and-"

"Yeah, I heard," Bonnie said unimpressed. Chastity looked down at her plate.

"I did too," I said giving the two a look. "I really wish I would have seen it though. By the way, Chastity, this cheese bread is delicious. Chastity is one of the best cooks, Stefan."

"I can taste that," Stefan said as he took a bite of her cheese bread. "Did you make this all from scratch?"

"Yeah, family recipe," she replied dully.

"Why don't you guys tell Stefan about your families?" Elena suggested.

"Um, divorced. No mom. Live with my dad," Bonnie said glancing at Stefan briefly before returning her eyes to her plate.

"Married. Older sister. Really close with my dad's sister," Chastity said. I rolled my eyes.

"About the witches, you guys," I said. That caught Stefan's attention and he looked over at me with curious eyes. "Bonnie and Chastity's families have a lineage of witches."

"It's really cool," Elena added giving Bonnie and Chastity an urging look for them to talk.

"Cool isn't the word I'd use," Chastity said.

"Well it's certainly interesting," Stefan said. "I'm not to versed, but I do know that there's a history of Celtic druids that migrated here in the 1800s."

"My family came by way of Salem," Chastity told him.

"Mine too," Bonnie said.

"Really?" Stefan said. They nodded. "Salem witches?"

"Yeah," Bonnie said with a small smile.

"I'd say that's pretty cool."

"Really? Why?"

I smiled. It was about time they got into a conversation!

"Salem witches are heroic examples of individualism and non-conformity," Stefan explained. Bonnie and Chastity smiled, which made me and Elena smile more than we were. This was what we were hoping for!

"Yeah, they are," Chastity said.

The doorbell rang and we all looked toward the door with confused faces. Who could that be?

"Um…I'll get it," I said setting my fork down and getting up.

I walked up toward the door and opened it, surprised by who I saw there.

"Surprise!" Caroline exclaimed. "Bonnie said you were doing dinner, so we brought desert."

I finally noticed Damon was behind her.

"Oh," I said.

"Hope you don't mind," Damon said.

Caroline walked in past me and handed Elena the desert as she and Stefan walked over. Stefan stood in the doorway, staring his brother down.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as Elena and Caroline went to the kitchen.

"Waiting for Samantha to invite me in," Damon explained.

"Oh yeah, you can just-"

"No, no, no," Stefan said quickly. "He-he can't uh….He can't stay."

I looked over at Damon. Then why was he….

"Can you, Damon?" Stefan said.

The two brothers had a stare down- again- while I watched awkwardly.

"Get in here," Caroline said to Damon. I jumped and turned. When did she get back here?

"We're just…finishing up," Stefan said looking at me.

"It's fine," I shrugged. I didn't want to tell Caroline and Damon to beat it after they just got here. I'd feel really rude and mom and dad raised me better than that. I looked back at Damon with a smile. "Just come on in."

He smiled and looked at Stefan, stepping into the house. Stefan looked at me as if I had just invited Hitler into the house. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow asking what's up. He looked at Damon's back as he admired the house.

"You have a beautiful home, Samantha," Damon said looking back at me.

"Thank you," I said. This was about to get interesting.

* * *

><p>"I just…I cannot believe that Mr. Tanner let you on the team," Caroline laughed looking at Stefan. "Ugh, Tyler must be seething. But good for you, go for it."<p>

Chastity rolled her eyes at Caroline, and nudged me. She gave me that look that said she was ready to jump on her and rip her hair out by the roots. I shook my head warningly.

"That's what I always tell him," Damon said. "You have to engage. You can't just sit there and wait for life to come to you. You have to go get it!"

"Yeah, Elena wasn't as lucky as Sam today," Caroline said. "It's only because you missed summer camp, Elena. Sam's just always been great at catching on to things. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines."

"We'll work together," I said coming to my sister's defense. "She'll get it in no time."

"Yeah, I'll help them out too," Bonnie said.

"Me too and I'm sure Olivia won't have a problem helping out," Chastity added.

"Where is Olivia tonight anyway? It's weird we're all here without her," I said to change the topic since Elena looked like she was ready to hurt Caroline too.

"She's probably out chasing your brother," Caroline said. "I love her, but I don't see the attraction. No offense."

And there she goes again.

"Anyway, I guess we can put Elena in the back….Sam would definitely go in the middle. I'd put you in the front, but you're still a little behind too," Caroline mused.

"You don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena," Damon said. "I don't see much of it in you either, Samantha."

"Oh, it's just cause their parents died," Caroline said bluntly. "Yeah, I mean they're just totally going through a blah phase. They used to be way more fun."

Bonnie gave her an 'are you serious' look while Chastity….well...

"Oh my god, could you be more shallow you no-brain, barbie?!" she snapped at her.

I let out a sigh and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Here we go," I said.

"Do you have any sensitivity at all or are you just a shallow little brat 24/7?!" she demanded. "You can't think of a better way to ruin the evening than to barge in here and go on and on pointing out Elena's cheerleading flaws and talking about how she and Sam aren't themselves! News flash, cliche blondie: You wouldn't be the same if you lost both of your parents, almost died with them or almost lost your older sister with them!"

"I didn't mean to make it sound that way," Caroline said quickly. "I said it all with complete sensitivity!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you did," Chastity said.

"Okay, let's calm down here," I said. "Caroline, Elena and I understand and Chastity is sorry-"

"Chastity is not sorry!"

"Chas," I warned. She huffed and crossed her arms. "Anyway, let's just not fight right now."

It was silent in the room before someone decided to break it.

"I'm sorry, Elena and Samantha. I know what it's like to lose both your parents," Damon said sincerely. "In fact, Stefan and I have watched almost every single person we've ever cared about die."

"We don't need to get into that right now, Damon," Stefan said.

"Ah you know what, you're right, Stef. I'm sorry. The last thing I wanted to do was bring THEM up," Damon said. Elena looked at Stefan while I gave Damon a suspicious look. Why was he doing this again?

I was now in the kitchen putting some dishes in the dishwasher after Elena and Stefan cleared the table. Everyone else was in the living room since I told them I could handle the clean up in here.

"One more," Damon said entering the room with a glass.

"Oh, thank you," I smiled taking it. It slipped from my hand and he caught it just before it hit the ground.

I laughed as he held it up proudly. I tucked a lock of my hair behind my hair before taking it.

"Nice save," I complimented.

"I like you," he said pointing at me. He walked around and leaned against the counter on the other side of the dishwasher. "You know how to laugh. And you make Stefan smile as well as Elena, which is why I like her too, and the whole Stefan smile is something I haven't seen in a very long time."

"Earlier….did you mean Katherine? And Elizabeth?" I asked curiously.

"Mm-hmm," he confirmed taking the plate I had and placing it in the dishwasher.

"How did Katherine die? And what about Elizabeth?" I asked.

"Well, unfortunately, Elizabeth died as well. And in a fire, both of them. Tragic fire."

"The same one? Recently?" I asked.

"Same one and well, it seems like it was yesterday," he said.

I sighed and looked back down in the sink. A fire seemed like a terrible way to die. And did they know each other? Or was it just a coincidence that they died in the same fire? I didn't want to pry into that though.

"If you're wondering why, it could just be that they were almost always together," he said. "The two of them were sisters."

"Stefan dated sisters?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Indeed he did," Damon confirmed.

"What were they like?" I asked out of sheer curiosity.

"They were both beautiful, a lot like you and Elena in that department," Damon said. "I think Elizabeth drew more eyes than Katherine, though. Katherine was just very complicated and selfish, and at times not very kind, but very sexy and seductive. Elizabeth was almost her opposite. She was kinder than Katherine, but just as complicated. She was a very charming girl, hard to read, just as sexy and seductive. She displayed a childlike innocence and it intrigued almost everyone around her."

I nodded. "So which of you dated who first?" I asked handing him a plate.

He took it from me with a chuckle.

"Nicely deduced," he said. "Ask Stefan. I'm sure his answer differs from mine."

He closed the dishwasher with that and smiled at me. I smiled back a little and went to folding the napkins and placemats.

"I'd quit cheerleading if I were you and Elena," he said sitting down next to the counter I was at.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Oh I saw her at practice. She looked miserable," he explained as he helped me fold. "And you didn't look all too thrilled either."

"You saw that?"

"Am I wrong?"

"We used to love it," I sighed. "It was fun. Things are just….different this year. Everything that used to matter doesn't anymore."

"So don't let it. Quit, move on. Problem solved, ta-da."

I smiled and let out a chuckle.

"Some things could matter again," I insisted.

"Maybe," he said. "But it seems a little unrealistic to me."

I bit my lip and looked down. "I'm sorry."

He furrowed his eyebrows.

"About Katherine and Elizabeth," I continued. "You lost them too."

He stared at me in what seemed to be shock for a little bit before Chastity came in.

"Hey," she said. "Need some help?"

"Sure why not?" Damon answered.

* * *

><p>I was in my room alone, preparing for bed. I had just put my hair up in a ponytail when I heard the sound of glass shattering against the floor downstairs. I ran to the top of the stairs and looked down, alarmed.<p>

"Elena?!" I called down. There was no answer. I ran halfway down and peeked as best I could into the kitchen, seeing no one still. I did, however, see a pile of broken glass near the island counter.

Sighing and figuring that Jeremy probably came home and put it on the edge, I walked down and grabbed a broom from the closet. When I closed the door and turned toward the kitchen, I ran into Damon. Literally. I jumped.

"Damon?" I asked confused. Veins popped up around his eyes and they turned black and….he grew….fangs….I screamed.

I gasped, sitting up in my bed abruptly. I blinked and looked around my room. It was just a dream. Only a stupid dream, I thought as I ran my hands through my hair. I shook my head and got up, heading toward the door and grabbing the glass from my dresser for water.

* * *

><p>The next morning, I stood in front of my mirror in my room with a towel wrapped around me and my arms folded. I stared at the uniform set out on my bed behind me before glancing at the picture of me wearing it with Elena in the exact same thing. We were smiling and had our arms wrapped around each other, our pom poms getting in each other's face. I sighed and bit my lip, looking up at myself in the mirror. That just…it didn't seem like me anymore. Maybe Damon was right. Maybe I shouldn't let cheerleading matter anymore because maybe…it wasn't supposed to. Maybe this was apart of who I was now. And maybe I needed to accept that.<p>

* * *

><p>"So you quit," Chastity said later that day.<p>

"Yupp," I confirmed. "I quit. I'm a quitter."

"Don't say that," she said. "I think this is the first thing you quit on since….since Kristen Stewart."

"I haven't completely given up on her," I fought. "I still think she can be a great actress. And not 'hey I'm in a popular movie series' good actress, but legit good."

"Right," she rolled her eyes. "Oh hey, I wanted to give this to you."

She lifted up a beautiful heart shaped locket to me smiling. I smiled back and held it, looking at it in awe.

"It's beautiful," I said. "Where did you get it?"

"I had it lying around," she said. "I wanted you to have it. It seems like a Sam thing."

"Is that a good thing?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes," she smiled. "Here."

I took it slowly, smelling something on it. I lifted it to my nose and sniffed it.

"Is that rose?" I asked her. She looked down before quickly looking back up at me.

"It's an herb," she said. "My…aunt said it was for good luck. I figured you could use it more than me."

"Your aunt?"

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking but my mom confirmed it. She said our family's been growing the herb for generations."

"Family secret?"

"You could say that."

"Well I love it," I said as I put it on. "I'll never take it off."

"Good," she said with some relief. I wondered what that was about, but I let it go. "Anyway have you told Caroline about you giving up your spot on the team?"

"Uh…."

"Crap," she said suddenly. I stiffened.

"She's right behind me isn't she?" I whispered. She nodded and I turned, facing the girl with the raised eyebrow and hand on her hip.

"And you're not in uniform because?" she asked. Here we go….

* * *

><p>I was standing by Elena at the ralley. Turns out, Caroline was in a pretty good mood so she didn't go that ballistic on us for quitting. Adam did need to step in once or twice to defend me, but I didn't think it was as bad as it could have been.<p>

Mr. Tanner gave his pep speech, praising Stefan on how great a player he was and how our team was finally going to beat the other team. Well, we may actually have a chance with Stefan on the team. Now if only Tyler would get his head in the game and quit trying to get in fights with Jeremy…..

People cheered, clapped, and bounced around in the crowd. I tried to blend in with them before I heard Vicki in the back.

"Stop, you're hurting him! Tyler!" she shouted.

Elena and I exchanged glances before following everyone to where her shouts were coming from. Jeremy was on his back on the ground, Tyler on top of him punching him. Stefan quickly ran up to them.

"Hey, he's down! Enough!" he said grabbing Tyler's fist.

Tyler got off of Jeremy and punched Stefan in the stomach. Oddly enough, Stefan didn't even flinch. Then Jeremy picked up a broken glass bottle and swung it at Tyler just as he swung at Stefan and Stefan blocked him, sending him off to the side. He ended up slashing Stefan's hand with the glass, Matt pulled Tyler to the side and began shouting at him, while Elena rushed over to Jeremy.

"What the hell, Jeremy?" she demanded.

"Lift your head up, you're bleeding," I said noting his bloody nose.

"I'm fine, okay?" he said impatiently.

"Yeah you smell fine," Elena said. She was right. His breath wreaked of alcohol.

"Just stop, ok?" he said annoyed before walking away. I watched him before remembering that he cut Stefan with that glass. I was about to join him and Elena to make sure he was okay before Adam came up to me.

"Hey," he said. "Are you okay? What was that about?"

"It….Jeremy was just fighting with Tyler," I said. "Nothing new unfortunately."

"And how's Stefan?" he asked looking over my shoulder at my sister and him.

"He's-" I looked over too and saw him holding his hand up to my sister, no cut at all. I furrowed my eyebrows, sure that I saw a huge gash on his hand earlier. "-fine. By the looks of it."

"Maybe Jeremy missed. I thought I heard someone say he got Stefan good."

"Guess not," I said slowly, watching as Stefan walked away from Elena. What was going on? I know that Jeremy cut Stefan, I saw the blood…

* * *

><p>Elena and I walked toward the cheerleading team together. Caroline was telling Tiki to hold the sign still and straight while everyone else was either rolling their eyes at her or ignoring her completely. Bonnie and Chastity walked up to us.<p>

"Hey," Chastity said. "Where have you two been?"

"Can I ask you guys a serious question and you give me a really serious no-joke response?" Elena asked the both of them. They looked at each other before looking at me.

"It's a legit question," I said.

"Of course, what is it?" Bonnie asked.

"The bad mojo," Elena said. "When you touched Stefan and you had that reaction-"

"You know what, forget I said that. Your little dinner party plot totally won me over," Bonnie said.

"Yeah me too," Chastity said. "He's a good guy."

"No, guys, seriously. What was it?" I asked them.

"Did you see something or…."

"It wasn't clear like a picture," Bonnie said shaking her head. "Like today, I keep seeing those same numbers Chastity and I told you about- 8, 14, 22."

"Yeah," I said letting them know I was caught on.

"Well….when Bonnie touched Stefan, it was a feeling," Chastity explained.

"And it vibrated through me and it was cold, and it-"

She stopped suddenly, biting her lip and looking like she was wondering if she should continue or not. Chastity looked at her, encouraging her to go on.

"And what?" Elena asked.

"It was death," Bonnie concluded. "It's what I imagine death to be like."

What….Elena and I stared at them for a minute, trying to see if they were absolutely serious. When neither even cracked a smile, we looked at each other. What did that mean?

* * *

><p>I walked to Elena's car alone later after we talked to Bonnie and Chastity and put the last of the contents from my cheerleading locker in the trunk, closing it and locking the car. I turned around and jumped when I noticed Damon right behind me.<p>

"You scared me," I gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm hiding from Caroline," he whispered.

"And why is that?" I whispered back.

"I needed a break," he explained. "She..talks more than I can listen."

"That could be a sign," I said with a small smile.

"Well, she's awfully young."

"Not much younger than you are," I pointed out. He chuckled a little, but there was a certain look in his eye that said he didn't completely agree.

"I don't see it going anywhere in the bigger picture. I think she'd drive me crazy," he said. I felt like I needed to defend her then.

"Caroline does have some really annoying traits," I said thinking back to the dinner party where she relentlessly talked about how much less fun Elena and I were now that our parents had died. "But we've been friends since I met her when her and my sister were in first grade. And that means something to me."

"Duly noted. I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable. That's not my intention," he said, clearly faking it.

"Yes, it is," I said. "Otherwise you wouldn't put an alternate meaning behind everything you say to me and my sister."

He smiled and shook his head a bit.

"You're right," he said. "I do have other intentions, but so do you."

"Really?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm," he smirked. "I see 'em. You want me."

"Excuse me?" I asked with a disbelieving smile.

"I get to you. You find yourself drawn to me. You're curious about me. You think about me even when you don't want to think about me. Elena got the mysterious new boy and along with him comes his hot older brother who's just as much as a mystery. I bet you even dreamed about me-" Kay that part was weird…"-You want me and right now, you want to kiss me," he said, his eyes dilating a little. He got closer to me and his lips just brushed against mine before I shoved him away and slapped him.

"I don't know who you think you are or what you think you're doing, but I can assure you I really want nothing to do with you," I said. "And I don't know what happened in the past, but let's get one thing straight. I am not Katherine. And I am not Elizabeth."

I stormed past him, trying with all my might not to think about how his lips on mine made me shiver with delight.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

Damon clapped after Matt walked away from Stefan. Stefan turned around and looked at his brother.

"Isn't that nice?" Damon asked sarcastically. "Stefan joins a team, makes a friend. It's all so, 'rah, rah, go team, yeah!'."

"Not tonight," Stefan said beginning to walk away. "I'm done with you."

Damon appeared before him quickly, much to Stefan's dismay.

"Nice trick with Samantha," Damon complimented. "I assume you did the same with Elena. Let me guess- vervain in the necklace? Who'd you compel to give it to her? Her friend Chastity?"

Stefan furrowed his eyebrows. He gave Elena a necklace and intended to give another to Sam. He didn't know that she already had one….who gave it to her? Was it really Chastity? Did she know?

"I admit, I was a bit surprised," Damon continued ignoring Stefan's clear surprise. "It's been a while since anyone could resist my compulsion. Where'd you get them?"

"Does it matter?" he asked rhetorically, choosing to go with letting Damon think he gave the lockets to both girls for the sake of keeping Damon away from Sam's friend.

"Guess I could just seduce Samantha the old-fashioned way. I'd have to get around Elena though, she seems like the type to bring out the claws when it comes to her little sister and brother," Damon said as Stefan walked past him calmly. "Or I could just…eat her. She does smell ridiculously delicious. I don't know how you contain yourself around her without taking just a tiny sip."

Stefan stopped walking and turned back around.

"No," he said. "You're not gonna hurt her, Damon. Her or Elena."

"No?" Damon challenged walking toward his brother.

"Because deep down inside, there is a part of you that feels for her. Samantha," he said. Damon gave him a incredulous look. "I was worried that you had no humanity left inside of you, that you may have actually become the monster that you pretend to be."

"Who's pretending?" Damon said.

"Then kill me," Stefan said.

"Well, I'm- I'm tempted."

"No, you're not," Stefan told him. "You've had lifetimes to do it and yet, here I am. I'm still alive. And there you are. You're still haunting me. After 145 years. Elizabeth is dead-" Damon's face showed a sliver of emotion at the mention of her name. "-And you hate me because you loved her, and you torture me because you still do. And that, my brother, is your humanity."

Damon's face was unreadable after Stefan's small speech. He didn't get to say anything because Mr. Tanner was coming toward them, calling Stefan.

"Salvatore!" he said coming up behind Stefan. "What the hell? We've got a game to play!"

Stefan looked from him back to Damon.

"If that's my humanity…" Damon said. "Then what's this?"

He sped toward Mr. Tanner, latching on to his neck with his fangs. Mr. Tanner screamed and was soon dropped to the ground. Damon's vampire face now had blood and he turned back to his brother.

"Anyone, any time, any place," he said to Stefan. Stefan stared at his brother in shock. Looks like he didn't have so much humanity after all.

* * *

><p><strong>-Sam-<strong>

I paced around my bedroom, waiting for my brother and sister to get home. I really hoped Jeremy was safe, he hadn't answered his phone for either of us. Matt just called me and told me that Mr. Tanner was dead, killed by that same animal that attacked Vicki in the woods. I came home early because Elena wanted me safe before she went back for Jeremy and Stefan. I didn't want her going alone, telling her that I'd be fine, but she insisted that I come home because I could be a bite sized snack for whatever animal was out there.

When I got the text from Elena saying she found both boys, I sighed with relief and sat down by my window. I thought about Damon and what happened earlier before the game. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, he was right. I really did want to kiss him then and there was something intriguing about him, but….I could sense that he had ulterior motives. He wanted to mess with his brother, but I wasn't quite sure why. Then I thought back to the dream I had. He looked demonic. Like a….no. That was just some weird dream.

Then what about what Bonnie felt when she touched Stefan? And Chastity and her with the numbers? It was all so…so weird. I touched the locked on my neck and sighed. I felt like things around here were going to change a lot. Maybe not all for the better.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

Later that night, Elena and Jeremy were sound asleep in their rooms as was Jenna. Sam was his main focus right now though. She looked so peaceful when she slept, something he'd never witnessed before since Elizabeth was always awake before him in the morning and asleep last at night. He watched her sleep, fighting back the feelings surging through him while at the same time embracing them.

It'd been years since he felt this way and he never thought he would again. After she died….after he swore to make his brother's life hell…..he thought he would never feel this again. But he was alone in the presence of a sleeping girl and he could admit to himself, in his mind at least, that he genuinely cared for this girl. Samantha Gilbert. She was a little like her look-a-like, but not by much. She was far sweeter, in personality and scent.

He couldn't help himself. He needed to touch her. So he allowed his hand to reach out and stroke her cheek as he thought about the almost kiss they shared. He wanted to, less for the sake of annoying hit brother and more for just wanting to feel her lips pressed against his. She stirred a little, alerting him that she was about to wake up.

Sam opened her eyes. No one was in her room as she had sensed, but her lamp was on. She sat up a little to turn it off before returning to a dreamless sleep.


	4. Family Ties

**Hi hi! So I wanted to let you all know that the reason so many updates are coming in now is because I already have this story posted up on Wattpad and I'm up to Haunted on there. I'm just trying to get to the same point, then I'm going to update them both at the same time when I get the chance.**

**I more than likely will not update as often as I am now when the story is up to speed with the other, but I will make an effort to not take months to post new chapters.**

**Got it? We good? Great! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

_Sam's eyes snapped open as a loud rattling came from downstairs. She got out of bed quickly, thinking it was Jeremy coming in late so she could tell him to quiet down before he woke Jenna and Elena. Sam opened her door and stepped toward the railing in front of her. There was no more noise._

_"Hello?" Sam called. Another noise. "Jeremy?"_

_A shadow passed down over the stairs and she went down there to see if it really was Jeremy. Sam stepped in to the dark kitchen, looking around curiously for her brother or someone else._

_"Hello?" she said again, flicking the light switch. It didn't work. Suddenly she heard the T.V. go on and she walked slowly toward it, seeing the reporter Logan Fell on the screen._

_"This is Logan Fell coming to you live from the streets of Mystic Falls with breaking news of another deadly animal attack. The wild animal terrorizing the citizens of Mystic Falls has claimed another victim. Local high school students, Elena and Samantha Gilbert," he said as their pictures popped up on the screen. "Police are certain that forensic evidence will confirm that this is the same animal responsible for recent attacks."_

_She started breathing heavily, her eyes glued to the screen as she slowly backed away. Did he say Elena and she were the ones killed by that animal? No, they couldn't have been. She was alive, she was right here and Elena was alive! Elena was not dead!_

_"You know it's coming next," she heard a familiar voice say from behind her. _

_She gasped and looked over her shoulder, seeing a smirking Damon standing in front of the back door. Sam made a run for it, running out of the kitchen and to the front door. She quickly opened it only to come face to face with Damon again. _

_She screamed and slammed it shut, turning around to see him standing in the hall. How did he get there when he was just outside? Sam screamed again and pulled at her hair as she sank to the floor, panicking and waiting for him to kill her and just get it over with. _

_However, when she looked up again, he was gone. She began walking forward, still panting out of fear. Her eyes went all over the place, looking for him in the shadows of the house. She screamed when she felt her head being pushed to the side and fangs sink in her neck._

Stefan's eyes snapped open and he gasped, snapping up in a sitting position on his bed as he awoke from his nightmare. Damon casually glanced over his shoulder at his little brother.

"Bad dream?" he asked. "Ah. Do you know how easy it was to get into your head just now?" He tasked. "You really need some human blood. It might even the playing field."

Stefan sat still, trying to gather himself and ignoring his brother.

"Football reference," Damon said when Stefan said nothing. "Too soon?"

Stefan got out of bed, angry, and sped over to the table and picked up a knife. He threw it at Damon, watching as it planted itself deep in his chest. Damon looked down at it boredly, like he expected it, before standing up and pulling it out.

"All right, I deserved that," he said. "But I just wanted to let you know, they caught the culprit. The animal responsible for killing Coach Tanner and all those people."

"What are you talking about?" Stefan asked.

"It was a mountain lion. Really big one," Damon explained as he used his hands to demonstrate- or exaggerate- how big the animal was. "It attacked a hunter this morning. It's all over the news. 'Deadly beast captured. All's well in Mystic Falls'," he said dramatically.

"Why would you cover your tracks?" Stefan questioned.

Damon walked toward the window. "I've decided to stay a while. I'm just having way too much fun here with you and Elena. The most fun I'm having, though, is with that- again- adorable, yet sexy little sister of hers."

"Can't touch her now," Stefan said still wondering why Chastity gave her that vervain locket. "You can't touch either of them."

"Well, the vervain keeps me out of their heads," Damon pointed out as he slowly walked toward Stefan. "Maybe that's not my target. Believe it or not, Stefan, some girls don't need my persuasion. Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and my charm, and my unflinching ability to listen to Taylor Swift."

Then he casually stabbed the knife into Stefan's stomach, earning a groan of pain from his brother. Stefan fell to his knees as he pulled it out slowly while Damon stepped to his side and looked down at the blood and hole in his shirt.

"This is John Varvatos, dude," he said. "Dick. Move."

* * *

><p>I came downstairs just as Jenna turned the T.V. off. Elena was sitting at the head of the table, shining things from the box she got from the safe deposit box.<p>

"What are you doing with that?" Jenna asked.

"Mom told Mrs. Lockwood that she would loan it to the Founder's Council for their heritage display," I explained to Jenna as I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. I walked over to the table and sat on Elena's right while Jenna rummaged through the box.

"Is that Grandma Beth's wedding ring?" she asked picking up the ring.

"Originally it was Great Great Grandma Mary's wedding ring," Elena said as Jeremy walked over. He reached over and picked up a pocket watch.

"How much do you think this stuff is worth?" he asked. "You know like on eBay?"

"You're not gonna find out," Elena said snatching it back from him.

"That stuff is mom and dad's. You can't just give it away," he protested.

"I'm not giving it away," she said. "It's called a loan, Jeremy."

The doorbell rang and I got up to go answer it, seeing that it wasn't going to get pretty between the two of them. It was Stefan.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hey there stranger! Come on in," I smiled as I stepped aside to let him in. "Lena! Your lover is here."

She came over quickly, sticking her tongue out at me for teasing her. I giggled and just went up to my room. My phone buzzed on my dresser just as I walked in. I opened the text, seeing it was from Chastity.

**What are you wearing to the founder's party?**

I sucked my teeth as I looked in my closet. I pulled up a random dress, and then shrugged. It was the one Chastity gave me for my birthday last year and since I haven't had a reason to wear it yet, it would be good enough. Caroline would murder me if she heard "good enough" instead of "the best of the best", but oh well.

**The dress you got me for my birthday last year.**

I sent the message and then walked back up to my mirror, staring at my reflection. Adam had asked me to go to the founder's party with him a couple days ago and even though Chastity would kill me when she found out, I agreed to go with him. I wasn't giving him a second chance and I made sure he knew that this was going to be nothing more than two friends going to a party together.

**CUTE! BTW, did you know Caroline's going to the founder's party with Damon?**

Why did that bother me? Why did I want to throw my phone across the room as soon as I read that? I had never thrown a fit in my life, not even when I was a little girl and normally I would be happy for my friends if they found a guy they really liked. But Damon was different. There was something…off about him. Something dangerous.

And yet I found myself attracted to him like a magnet.

**Really? What about Bonnie, Olivia, and you? No double date?**

I decided to keep the concern under wraps. For now, at least.

**No double date, it's a threesome now. It's just Livvie, Bonnie, and me. Maybe that's a good thing ;) We can flirt with whoever without Caroline trying to take the spotlight.**

I shook my head, but smiled. Yeah, but she would still have to fight Olivia.

* * *

><p>The doorbell rang and Jeremy opened it, but tried closing it again when he saw who was there. I could only assume it was Tyler and he was probably here to pick up the stuff for the display. I grabbed it from Elena's room since she was out with Stefan and went down.<p>

"I'm here for my mom, she told me to pick up a box of stuff," I heard Tyler say.

"Right here," I said as I walked to the door. I handed the box over. "Please be careful."

"Yeah, be careful with it, dick," Jeremy spat.

"Hey," I said. "Not now. Please, guys."

"I'm fine, Sammy. He's just being a punk," Tyler said sweetly.

"I got your punk," Jeremy shot back.

"Look, Tyler maybe you should go," I said nicely. "And tell your mom we'll see her tonight."

"You got it sweetness," he winked.

I walked away while Jeremy rolled his eyes in disgust before he closed the door.

I walked into the kitchen and sat down next to Chastity as she looked at two different nail polish colors.

"I don't even have a date and yet I'm struggling to choose one of these," she said. I picked up the bottles and furrowed my eyebrows, but smiled.

"Delicate flower vs. naughty vixen?" I asked. "Tough call, can we mix them?"

"Haha," she said snatching naughty vixen from me. "You should wear delicate flower for your date tonight. It fits you more."

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" I asked with a small laugh. "And I told you it's not a date."

"Right, your buddy company is not a date, got it," she said. "Can you finally tell me who it is now?"

I sighed and looked down at the nail polish bottle I still had, finding all the details on it very interesting suddenly.

"Adam," I said guiltily. She dropped the nail polish bottle, but luckily it didn't break.

"What?" she asked.

"It's two friends going together, I told him that as soon as he asked me."

"That could still give him hope!"

"It's just this party," I said. "That's it. Nothing more after this unless it's in a group. Make you feel better?"

"Slightly," she grumbled. "I'm still going to kill him if he tries anything."

"And that's why you're just as vicious a big brother as Jeremy is," I sighed.

She laughed.

"Who is Elena going with? Stefan?"

"Yep," I confirmed. "She's so excited. She was panicking about what to wear this morning, but I think we got it."

"Great," Chastity said.

"Now, tell me what you wanted to tell me before," I said. She gave me a look. "Don't look surprised, I know you better than you know yourself sometimes."

"I'll wait until later," she said. "Besides, Caroline would kill me if she found out I said anything."

"Since when do you care about what Caroline says or does?"

"Since never, but I just don't want to ruin tonight for you. Or Elena."

"Just tell me because it's bothering you and I don't like that," I insisted. She sighed.

"Apparently Stefan has a very interesting back-story," she said. I waited for her to continue. "Do you know what happened with his ex-girlfriend? Katherine or Elizabeth?"

"I know that Stefan and Damon both dated them. I'm not sure who dated who first, but that's why they have issues."

"Yeah, they both dated them, only they both chose Damon when it came down to it," Chastity told me. "Elizabeth came along first and she and Damon were getting along very well, but Stefan actually dated her first. Then Katherine came and Damon and her had a thing, but Stefan swooped in there too. Both of them said they liked Damon more though and that drove Stefan mad that both of them liked his brother more, so he did horrible things to try and convince one or even both of them to choose him. He manipulated Katherine and Elizabeth, he filled their heads with all these lies until finally it worked and they both turned against Damon."

"That sounds like one person's side of the story, meaning Damon's," I told her.

"I just wanted you to know. I'm not sure if Bonnie told Elena or not," she said sipping at her drink.

"And his past relationships, Stefan's, are none of my business. Maybe not even Elena's. At least not until he chooses to bring them up with her," I said.

"Unless he's a calculating, manipulative liar," Chastity said as she painted her nails with Naughty Vixen. "That is Elena's business just as much as yours."

"Stefan is none of those things," I defended.

"Yeah, how do you know?" she challenged. I bit my lip. I didn't exactly doubt him at this point; I was just trying to find something to prove that Stefan wasn't a bad guy.

* * *

><p>I walked up the stairs of the Lockwood Mansion, the curled tips of my hair bouncing with each step I took. Adam walked over to me with sparkling cider.<p>

"I had to stay away from the champagne," he said. "No minors allowed."

"Shame," I teased.

He and I both looked to the entrance as Caroline and Damon stepped in. She went over to her mom while Damon spotted me, smirked, and strolled over.

"Well hello there, Miss Gilbert," he said kissing my hand. "May I just say that you look absolutely stunning this evening?"

"Thank you," I said politely. Adam stood awkwardly before clearing his throat. "Right, this is my friend Adam. Adam, this is Damon Salvatore. Stefan's older brother."

"Right, heard a lot about you," Adam said curtly as he shook Damon's hand.

"And I'm afraid I've heard nothing of you," Damon said. Adam looked even more uncomfortable at that. "Relax, I don't talk to many of the kids around here, although they obviously talk a lot about me."

"I'm sure Chastity would have said a lot about me," Adam said. "She likes to go on rants all day trash talking me."

"Yeah Chastity has that fiery spirit," Damon said. "Why would she want to trash talk you?"

Adam and I stayed silent, looking at each other awkwardly. I wouldn't say anything if he didn't. Besides, it really wasn't any of Damon's business.

"Uh-oh," Damon said. "Something happen here?"

"There you are!" Caroline said suddenly. I thanked her a thousand times in my mind. "Come on, I want to show you off."

She steered him away and a sigh of relief from Adam.

* * *

><p>Elena and I looked around at the displays together while Stefan and Adam followed closely behind us.<p>

"Hey look at this," I said. "The original guest registry."

"Look at all these familiar names," Elena said. "Sheriff William Forbes, Mayor Benjamin Lockwood."

"Is that Damon Salvatore?" I asked staring at the neatly scripted name. "And Stefan Salvatore?"

Stefan seemed at a loss for words while Elena and I stared at him questioningly.

"The original Salvatore brothers," Damon said.

We all turned to see Damon walk in with Caroline on his arm. Caroline had a small smirk on her face, which I thought was weird. "Our ancestors. Tragic story actually."

"We don't need to bore them with stories of the past," Stefan said.

"It's not boring, Stefan," Elena said. "I'd love to hear more about your family."

"How about a dance instead?" Stefan offered holding his hand out to Elena. Elena looked to me as if trying to get permission.

"Have fun children," I said teasingly.

She smiled and took Stefan's hand as he led her out to the dance floor.

"Well I'm bored," Caroline said. "And Damon won't dance with me. Could I just borrow Adam?"

"Oh uh," I looked to Adam awkwardly.

He'd always had a small crush on Caroline, even when we were dating, but it was up to him not me whether he danced with her now or not.

"I don't really dance," Adam said.

"Oh sure you do. Good-looking guy like yourself? You must have girls crawling all over you, asking you to dance everywhere. You must have picked up something somewhere," Damon said.

"You wouldn't mind, would you Samantha?" Caroline asked.

Okay that…was a little weird. She never really called me by my full name. She always called me Sam, Sammykins, or sweetheart like everyone else.

"It's up to Adam," I said, voicing my thought from before.

"Well sorry, but I'm not going to take no for an answer," Caroline said as she grabbed Adam.

Adam allowed himself to be pulled away by Caroline, sending me a 'see ya later' as she dragged him to the dance floor.

Now it was just me alone with Damon and I couldn't feel more…awkward.

"I want to apologize to you for being such a world-class jerk," Damon said in a sincere manner. "The other night when I tried to kiss you, there's no excuse."

I sighed, nodding slightly. He really seemed like he didn't mean what he was saying, but I may as well let him talk.

"My therapist says I'm acting out, trying to punish Stefan," he reasoned.

"For what?" I asked curiously.

"It's all in the past. I don't even want to bring it up," he said quickly. "Let's just say that the men in the Salvatore family have been cursed with sibling rivalry." He pointed back to the original guest registry. "And it all started with the original Salvatore brothers."

"That's unfortunate," I said walking over to the window, peeking out at the dance floor at Adam and Caroline.

Stefan had gone over and was talking to Adam, and then Adam nodded and walked over to Elena while Stefan danced with Caroline. I furrowed my eyebrows. Stefan wanted to dance with Caroline? Weird.

"The Salvatore name was practically royalty in this town, you know," Damon stated. "Until the war. There was a battle here-"

"The Battle of Willow Creek," I said looking over at him.

"Right," he said.

"I know, we talked about it in class," I told him. "Confederate soldiers fired on a church with civilians inside."

"What the history books left out was the people that were killed," he said walking toward me. "They weren't there by accident. They were believed to be Union sympathizers. So some of the founders on the Confederacy side back then wanted them rounded up and burned alive."

I tilted my head a little. That I never heard. How could that be left out of history books? It's repulsive that someone- anyone- could do that to people.

"Stefan and Damon had someone that they loved very much inside," Damon continued. "And when they went to rescue them, they were shot. Murdered in cold blood."

"Who was in the church that they wanted to save?" I asked.

"A woman, I guess," he said staring me straight in they eyes. "Doesn't it always come down to the love of a woman?"

I got lost in his eyes for a moment. They were so incredibly blue…but they held so much. Secrecy, mischief, danger, and much more. Then I remembered the night he tried to kiss me, how his lips felt against mine. I snapped out of it though.

"Look, I'm sorry that you and Stefan have this thing between you, but I can't get in the middle of it, Damon. Neither can my sister," I told him. He nodded and looked down. "I just…I hope you two can work it out."

"I hope so too," he whispered.

* * *

><p>"What'd we miss?" Damon asked as he and I walked up to Stefan and Caroline.<p>

"Oh we were just chatting," Stefan said as Elena and Adam joined us. "Drink, Damon?"

He held out a champagne glass to Damon while I tucked back of lock of Elena's hair that got lose.

"No thanks, I'll pass," Damon said.

Stefan held the glass up politely while Damon just stared at him with a smirk. I furrowed my eyebrows. They were doing that weird staring thing again and I could tell that Elena was getting uncomfortable. I nudged her and nodded to Stefan.

"Stefan, do you have another dance in you?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he said breaking his eye contact with Damon.

They went to dance while Adam held his hand out to me.

"May I have this dance, milady," he asked with a British accent.

"Of course," I smiled taking his hand.

He led me out to the dance floor by Stefan and Elena before putting his hands on my waist as I draped my arms around his neck. I could feel someone glaring over so I casually looked around until I saw Damon, who looked like he was killing Adam with his eyes. No, I must be mistaken. Why would he look at Adam like that? I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to Adam.

"So how awkward was it being alone with your sister's boyfriend's brother?" he asked casually. I sighed.

"Well," I said. "He apologized for being a jerk, explained why he is the way he is, and it all leads back...to the ex-girlfriends."

"Both of them?" he asked. He knew all about Elizabeth and Katherine since Bonnie and Chastity talked about them to Olivia and Caroline. Stuff gets around with those two.

"Yeah, I guess," I said. "I don't know what to think with that. All I know is that I don't believe Stefan is a bad guy."

"I'm not sure if Elena shares that thought," Adam said looking over at something.

I followed his gaze and saw Elena and Stefan looking like they were fussing over something. It ended when Elena walked away from him in the middle of their dance. I sighed.

"Trouble in paradise," Adam noted.

"Sister duty time," I told him.

He nodded understandingly while I followed after where Elena had just gone. I sent a comforting smile to Stefan, which he returned with a small smile of his own, and I continued after my sister.

* * *

><p>"This is my fault. I planted doubt," Bonnie said.<p>

"I did too. You guys shouldn't listen to us anymore, we're crazy. We're doubt planters," Chastity said.

She, Bonnie, and I were sitting with Elena in the living room of the mansion. Elena had told us what her small argument with Stefan had been about and Bonnie and Chastity immediately accepted blame for putting "bad thoughts" in our head about Stefan.

"It's not all your fault," Elena assured them. "I just- I feel terrible because I said that I wouldn't get in the middle of it, and then that's exactly what I did. Sam's even is getting pulled in with the things Damon's been telling her."

She knew about the things Damon's been telling me, including tonight's conversation, since I told her after she told us about the argument with Stefan.

I tried to defend Stefan with the whole Damon basically admitting he lashes out at Stefan, but at the same time I knew Stefan had to open up even a little bit more with Elena if he expected a relationship with her to work. Elena expected honesty, not secrets and omission.

"Elena, honey, there you are," Mrs. Lockwood said with relief as she walked toward us. "I notice the watch still isn't in the collection."

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at my sister. She took the watch from Jeremy…how was it not in the collection?

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, Mrs. Lockwood," she said. "I couldn't find it. I guess it's still packed up in my parents' stuff somewhere."

"I see," she nodded. "Well please let me know if you do find it."

"Okay," Elena smiled as Mrs. Lockwood got up and left us. I gave Elena the "Please explain" look and she sighed. "It meant a lot to him."

I smiled and nodded, knowing she meant Jeremy. I remember when Dad told Jeremy about the watch being passed down to the first-born son in the Gilbert family. Elena let Jeremy keep it since it was supposed to be his in the first place.

* * *

><p>I walked in to the "powder room" and went up to the mirror next to Caroline. I smiled at her.<p>

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she said back as she fixed her earring.

I dug into my clutch purse, looking for my lip-gloss. It was in here somewhere….

"So how are things between Stefan and Elena?" she asked.

"I'm not too sure," I said, not wanting to tell her the details since I wasn't sure if Elena wanted her to know or not. "I think they're good."

"Really?" Caroline asked applying more of her own lip-gloss, not really believing it. "Well my radar must be off, cause I was getting all sorts of other vibes."

I looked at her, not knowing what to say. My gaze trailed down toward her scarf and my thoughts spiked. Why was she so into scarves all of a sudden?

"What is that?" I asked noticing something under her scarf.

"Hmm?" she asked straightening up.

I pulled her scarf a little and she shook me off.

"Don't," she protested. Okay that was more suspicious.

I lifted her scarf when she wasn't paying much attention. She moved again, shaking me off, but not before I saw the deep bite like mark on her neck.

"Oh my god, Caroline what happened?" I asked her.

"Nothing, okay!"

"That is not nothing. Did somebody hurt you?"

"No, okay, nothing," she insisted. "It just…my mom would kill me."

Realization crossed my face. She only started wearing scarves after she began dating Damon.

Could Damon have done this to her? I stepped behind her, trying to see through her white shawl while she applied more lip-gloss. I pulled the shawl off, seeing another bite mark under her left shoulder.

"Did Damon hurt you?" I asked while she tugged it back up.

"No! Of course not!" she said, but I could tell she was lying. I tried seeing again, but she yanked away from me. "Just leave me alone! Okay, Sam?"

She left after that, letting the door slam behind her while I stared after her in disbelief. Damon was hurting her, wasn't he?

I left right away after her, determined to find Damon and to tell him to leave Caroline alone. I looked all over inside the mansion, but it wasn't until I went outside that I finally spotted Damon. I marched straight over to him. He smirked when he saw me coming and I pushed him back.

"There is something seriously wrong with you," I said to him, ignoring his shock. "You stay away from Caroline or I will go straight to her mother, the sheriff. You got it?"

I didn't even give him a chance to answer before I started walking away.

"Stay away from her," I warned him again before leaving him.

* * *

><p>I found Elena, Bonnie, Chastity, and Olivia shortly after and told them about what I found on Caroline and what I told Damon. Bonnie and Olivia went to look for Caroline while Elena went to apologize to Stefan for their argument from before and her doubting him. Now it was just Chastity and me. Adam had gone home when Brian decided to leave and after I told him I was staying a bit longer for Caroline.<p>

"I can't believe it," Chastity said. "Well I kind of can, but still. I didn't think Caroline would get into something like that."

"It's not her fault," I said. "It's Damon's. Caroline deserves to be with someone who will love her and take care of her, not someone who hurts her."

"Do you think Stefan knows?" she asked. I shook my head.

"Stefan would have done something if he did," I said. "He wouldn't let that happen."

I just hoped now that what I said to Damon didn't drive him to hurt Caroline more. I hoped he listened to my warning and stayed away from her now.

I wanted to make sure she was okay, so I went looking for Caroline with Chastity and Bonnie and Olivia told us they still hadn't been able to find her.

We finally found her, quite a distance away from the house and party, beyond the hedges where not many people could see.

"Caroline? There you are," I said with relief. I was glad Damon kept away from her.

"We've been looking everywhere for you," Chastity said.

I walked up faster seeing that she was just standing there, looking down at something. I walked around to look at her face and she just looked confused. She barely had any expression, it was just blank.

"Are you okay?" I asked concerned.

She nodded, looking at me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said panting a little and tugging at her scarf.

"Caroline, what happened?" I asked immediately, knowing something was wrong with her.

"I'm fine," she said. She was starting to cry now.

"No," I shook my head as she started shaking. "You're shaking. Caroline- what-"

"I'm fine," she insisted. She began mumbling, still panting.

"Caroline, come here," I said pulling her in my arms. She was a lot taller than me so I had to get up really high on my toes to hug her.

She began crying on my shoulder while I hugged her tightly. I wasn't going to make her talk, she was too much in distress for that. I looked over at Chastity and mouthed for her to get the other three. She nodded and ran off toward the house to get Elena, Bonnie, and Olivia while I stayed comforting Caroline. Whatever Damon did to Caroline now…I don't know who did this to her now, if it was Damon again or not- but if it was then he was going to pay.

* * *

><p><strong>Quick AN before I depart this chapter!<strong>

**I saw a couple questions on the review and here are the answers:**

**1. Yes! Sam is Elizabeth's doppelgänger like Elena is Katherine's! I actually meant to let you all know earlier, but I picture Lucy Hale as Sam and Elizabeth. Wattpad has this thing where you can choose a cast for your story- which is fun- and I just forgot to mention that here since I didn't have to there.**

**2. Another yes. Elizabeth is a vampire. She really is Katherine's biological sister and their relationship and back-story will be explored later on in Lost Girls, but I'll be going more in depth in the sequel.**

**That's it for now. If there are any other questions people have, please feel free to ask and I'll answer them as best I can without giving anything away.**


	5. You're Undead to Me

"What's up?" I asked Elena the next morning, seeing the weird look she had on her face.

"Did you know Vicki spent the night here?" she asked. I titled my head.

"What? She spent the night here?"

"Yeah, I just saw her in there," she said, pointing to the bathroom door.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I wasn't really sure what to say about that. I thought that Vicki was with Tyler…then again, I heard about her fight last night with Tyler so it would make sense that she would turn to Jeremy. Elena and I got dressed, then went downstairs and saw Jenna sitting at the table.

"Jenna," Elena whispered. "Are you aware of what's going on upstairs?"

"Uh-huh," Jenna nodded casually.

"And you have no objections?" Elena asked.

"He could be craftier about it," she replied. "At least make an effort to sneak her in and out. Oh and uh, just so the both of you know I won't be home for dinner."

"Oh," I said slyly. "So you're actually going to do it. You're going to go out with Logan."

She told both Elena and I about Logan "Scumfell" asking her to dinner last night. We weren't really sure if she would actually do it or not.

"I'm going to show up and torture him, yes," Jenna said.

Elena and I laughed.

"Have you heard from Stefan, Elena?" she asked then.

"Not since he left me that very vague message three days ago," Elena answered before deepening her voice to imitate Stefan. "'Hi, um, Elena, I, um, I have something I have to do. I'll, uh, explain in a few days'."

"You still haven't called him?" I asked her, taking a sip of coffee.

"Nope," Elena said. "Not going to either."

"And you're ok with everything?" Jenna asked her. Elena slammed the milk carton on the counter and I frowned. Poor milk.

"No, I'm not ok with any of it," Elena said. "But I'm not going to cry about it, either."

I sat down at the table next to Jenna, sipping my coffee while I listened to Elena.

"You know, I was going to write in my diary this morning, and then I thought 'what am I going to write?' Honestly, I'm not going to be one of those pathetic girls whose world stops spinning because of some guy."

"Ok then," Jenna said.

I frowned, knowing Elena was hurt that Stefan was keeping things from her. She saw me looking at her and put her spoon down.

"I'll be fine," she assured both Jenna and I before leaving the dining room. Jenna sighed before looking at me.

"Don't look at me," I said. "I'm fine when it comes to guy trouble."

"None whatsoever?" she asked doubtfully, obviously referring to Adam.

"Mm-hmm," I nodded unconvincingly.

"Right," she said, disbelief clear in her tone.

* * *

><p>Chastity, Elena, Bonnie, and I were talking near my locker when we heard Caroline down the hall. We looked down and saw her with a few other girls, passing out flyers for the Sexy Suds Car Was that was supposed to be today.<p>

"I want in your face sexy," Caroline said like it was just another day. "I mean, it's a fundraiser for god's sake."

"Unbelievable," Elena said. "It's like nothing happened."

"I thought you were in charge of the car wash," Chastity said to me. I shrugged.

"Caroline asked me this morning if she could take over," I said. "I figured she needed something to take her mind off of what happened."

"That's being in denial," Bonnie said with a pointed look at me.

I shrugged.

"Or it's coping," I said with a small smile.

"Hey," Stefan said as he walked up to us.

"Hey, uh, you know I gotta go," Bonnie said quickly.

"Yeah, me too," Chastity said. "Gotta be somewhere."

They both rushed off while I looked between Elena and Stefan awkwardly. I sighed and adjusted my bag over my shoulder.

"Yeah, I should go help with the…car wash….planning…something," I said. "See you guys later."

I walked away from them so they could have their private conversation. Well…private up until Elena told me.

* * *

><p>"Give him time, Lena," I told her after she came home from the Grill.<p>

She had told me about the conversation with Stefan and how an old man said he knew Stefan and made some comment about how he hadn't aged a day. It was so…weird. Then again, Stefan could just look like an older relative and the guy could have mistaken Stefan for him.

"I'm trying," Elena mumbled into her pillow. "It's just hard. I feel like he's keeping so many secrets."

"Maybe he is, maybe he isn't," I shrugged. "You can't just expect him to spill everything right away. Maybe he's still trying to get comfortable with telling a girl he likes all his dirty little secrets. I mean, it seems like the last couple times he did that he had his heart broken."

"I guess," she sighed.

"You two okay?" Jeremy asked from the door of Elena's bedroom.

"Is Vicki in there?" she asked without looking at him.

"Don't answer the question with another question," he said, smirk on his face. "What's wrong with you?"

"I'm miserable," Elena answered.

"Well you should go get something to eat," he suggested.

I tilted my head at him. Get something to eat? Elena considered this before she shrugged and got out of her bed, patting Jeremy on the shoulder as she passed him. I sat Indian style on her bed and gave him a 'what the fudge?' look. He smirked and mouthed "Stefan's here" at me. I made an 'o' with my mouth and nodded.

"You're good," I said pointing at him. He held his hands up modestly.

"Stop it, you're making me blush," he said. He then threw himself on Elena's bed next to me and laid his head on my leg. "Why is her bed so much more comfortable than mine?"

"Because your bed doesn't like you doing your dirty deeds on top of him," I teased. He rolled his eyes.

"Relax, it's not like you heard anything," he said.

"Thank god for that."

"Well," he said sitting up. "I should be heading back to my own room now."

"Vicki IS in there, isn't she?"

"Guilty!" I heard Vicki call from Jer's room.

"Hi Vicki!" I called to her with a smile.

Despite the fact that she was a terrible influence on my brother, they made a good couple. Or at least they could be if they tried helping each other rather than supporting each other's drug habits. Vicki was a sweet girl, she was just lost. So was Jeremy right now. They needed each other, but not for drugs.

"So…I'd stay up here if I were you," Jeremy said. "Go to the Grill, steal some of the dinner Stefan's making…your choice."

"I'll stay here," I said laying back on my sister's bed.

He left and went to his room while I played with the blankets on her bed. When I was little, I used to come into Elena's bedroom and sleep in her bed if there was a thunderstorm outside or if I had a bad dream. She always used to pull the blankets over our heads and she'd tell me either stories she remembered from when I was a baby or crossover fairy tales, my favorite being Snow White and the three bears. Looking back now, the stories were horrible and didn't make much sense, but she tried and I was little and loved them regardless because they were Elena's. Then our parents would come in because they'd hear us talking and join in on telling us stories about us as babies and Jeremy would come in too, along with his teddy bear, and we'd all end up falling asleep in Elena's room just like that.

A tear rolled down my face and I quickly swiped it away. I missed those times more than I ever thought I would only because I knew that there was just no way that we could ever recreate them. My parents were gone. But I still had my brother and sister.

* * *

><p>"He finally opened up to me," Elena said happily. "He told me all of this stuff about him. His favorite bands, his favorite movie, TV shows. He even told me about Katherine and Elizabeth," Elena said while she waited at the paying table by me for Caroline at the Sexy Suds Carwash.<p>

"Wow, that's a milestone there," I said sincerely. "He actually opened up about those two?"

"Yeah and from the sound of it, they were both beautiful and intriguing. Katherine sounds a little bitchier than Elizabeth though."

"Alright," Caroline sighed as she sat down in front of Elena and next to me. "No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here."

"No, we are not," Elena agreed. Stefan walked up to us then.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hey!" Elena greeted back with a smile, standing up. Caroline re-tied the strings of my bikini top, which had gotten loose after I pulled my hair out to put it up in a messy bun.

"Uh…the event is called SEXY suds, you know," Caroline informed Stefan and Elena, frowning at their fully clothed attire. I smiled at the two and shrugged when Stefan looked at me after she walked away.

"Did we just get scolded?" Stefan asked.

"And judged, yeah," I replied.

"I'm sorry, but I guess you're going to have to take that off," Elena said with a flirty smile gesturing to Stefan's shirt.

"I...think you have to go first," Stefan flirted back.

"Okay…yuck," I said crinkling my nose in a joking manner. "Guys…sitting right here."

They both laughed and looked at me.

"Sorry, Sam," Elena said.

She pulled her shirt up while Stefan took his jacket off. I giggled when Elena struggled with taking her shirt off.

"Ugh, sorry. So not sexy," she said as Stefan helped her. He finally got it off and tossed it on a chair.

"I disagree," he said holding her face. He kissed her.

"Awh," I said, making them both smile as they got deeper into the kiss. I groaned a little. "Still right here."

* * *

><p>"Hey, we're out of towels and those shimmy things," Elena said as she walked up behind Caroline and I.<p>

"I will go get some more," Caroline said, handing me the stack of money she was counting. "Mind the money."

"Gotcha," I said distractedly as I was counting the money in the box. I added the stack Caroline just had and closed it with a sigh, looking at Elena who was still sitting next to me.

"How is she?" she asked. I shrugged.

"You know her," I said, glancing in the direction Caroline went in. "She has ridiculously amazing resilience."

"Yeah, it's…weird," Elena said.

A man walked up then to pay for his car wash.

"That'll be twenty dollars," I said. He handed over the money and Elena looked at him carefully.

"I saw you last night," she said. He looked at her then. "You were talking to a friend of mine, at the grill?"

I looked from her to the man. So this was the old man who recognized Stefan?

"Well, I- I thought it was somebody I knew," he replied.

"Stefan Salvatore," Elena said.

"Nah, it can't be. It's just my mind playing tricks on me," he denied.

"Where do you think you'd seen him before?" I asked then. I shouldn't be butting in, but I was curious.

"When I first moved here, I stayed at the Salvatore boarding house," he answered.

"Oh," Elena said.

"Stefan was just passing through to visit his uncle. I mean, none of us knew he was even here until the attack."

"The attack?" Elena and I both repeated.

"His uncle got killed," the man elaborated. "Mauled by an animal in the woods."

"His uncle, Zach?" Elena asked.

The man shook his head.

"Mm-mmm. Joseph," he said.

"I'm sorry, sir, I don't think I'm familiar with the story," Elena shook her head, confusion on her face. I was having trouble keeping up too….

"Oh, how could you? I mean this happened years ago."

"Grandpa, you gotta go. Mom wants you home," Tiki said coming up next to the table.

"Ah," he said looking away.

"He wasn't bugging you, was he?" Tiki asked us as he started to walk away. "He's a little Alzy-heimer."

I shook my head right away.

"Uh, no he was sweet," I defended her grandfather.

Elena got up and went after Tiki's grandfather while I stayed at the table, seeing that another customer had walked up. I quickly glanced at Elena and Tiki's grandfather and Elena looked utterly confused and weirded out. I wonder what else he said.

* * *

><p>"June 1953?" I repeated.<p>

Elena and I were walking away from the pay table together. I had put Tiki in charge of it since she hadn't stopped complaining about how she didn't feel like washing anymore cars. I figured it was about time I did some cleaning today anyway.

"That's what he said," she mumbled back. "I…I can't believe it. More secrets."

"I'm sure there's a good explanation," I reasoned.

"Maybe. I'll find out," she said.

I followed her gaze to Stefan washing a car.

"Yeah, I'll let you do this," I said to her. "I'm actually going to go look for Caroline. I haven't seen her since she went to get towels."

Elena nodded and I waved at Stefan, who was now walking up to Elena. He smiled and waved back. I then turned around and looked for Caroline.

"Sam!" I heard Chastity call out to me.

She was washing a car with her sister so I walked up to them to ask if they'd seen Caroline.

"Hey guys," I greeted. "Either of you seen Care? She disappeared a while ago to get some more towels and she hasn't come back yet."

"That's why we're having trouble drying these stupid cars," Olivia grumbled. "I have no clue. I can go look in the school if you want."

"Yeah, that'd be great. I'll just keep looking out here," I said. Olivia nodded and jogged into the school to look for Caroline.

"Kay, guess I'll just finish this car myself!" Chastity called after her sarcastically.

"Oh relax, I'll help you finish," I said, picking up the towel Olivia left.

"Sam," Elena said, grabbing my arm. "Come with me."

"Or not," Chastity said.

I sent her an apologetic smile and walked with Elena toward a news van.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously.

"I got Logan Sc- Fell to take us to the station where we can look at some archive news footage for a couple of fake reports we're doing," she said. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"We're doing this why?" I asked. She didn't reply. Then it came to me. "You're seriously going to look up footage from 1953, Lena?"

"There's things that Stefan isn't telling me. I want to know what," she said quietly as we got the van.

She opened the passenger door and gestured for me to get in first. I sighed and climbed in. Logan smiled at me and held out his hand.

"You must be Samantha," he said. "Logan Fell."

"Nice to meet you. And you can call me Sam," I shook his hand with a smile.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>"We digitized all our archives last year. You can pull all the remote footage right up on screen," Logan informed Elena and me as he led us to the archives. "What is it exactly you're looking for?"<p>

"An incident from 1953," Elena answered as he opened the door for us. "If it even happened- at the old Salvatore boarding house."

We both sat down in a couple of chairs in front of all the TV screens. I shivered a little and rubbed my arms. I was still in my bikini top and short shorts and the air conditioning was cranked to the max in here. How Elena wasn't cold, I have no clue.

"Here, take this," Logan said as he draped his suit jacket over my shoulders.

His cell phone began to ring then. He checked the caller ID.

"Sorry, one second girls," he said. He flipped his phone open. "Yeah? All right, I'll be right there."

He hung up and looked at us both.

"I gotta go," he said. "You believe there's actual news to cover in this town? All right, use keywords to search the database. It's pretty easy to navigate. And Brady down in tech will help you out with anything you need."

"Ok," Elena smiled.

"Alright?" he said. We both nodded. "So...yeah, just leave the jacket by my desk before you leave."

"Will do," I smiled.

"Great," he said. He began walking out of the room before he turned around again. "Oh, hey! Could you two put in a good word for me with Jenna?"

"You got it," Elena said.

"All right, thanks a lot," he said with a smile. "Good luck."

He left then, closing the door behind him and I turned in my chair to Elena.

"He doesn't seem much like a Scumfell," I said, gesturing to the jacket draped over my shoulders.

"No, that's just him sucking up to you so you put a good word in," Elena smiled.

"It worked a little," I shrugged.

She giggled and began typing keywords for our "history class research". I leaned my head on her shoulder. One result popped up from the keywords she used.

"That must be our guy," I said. "Joseph Salvatore."

"Let's go back in time," Elena said, clicking on the footage.

"This is Michael Fell reporting to you from the Salvatore boarding house-" the man on screen said.

"Man, the Fells have the media covered here," I noted.

"-where a brutal animal attack has ended in tragedy. Ok, they're bringing the body. See if you can get closer."

Elena and I watched the screen intently as the shot zoomed in on the police rolling the body of Joseph Salvatore out of the house on a stretcher. Thank god he was covered…

"Is that the nephew?" Michael asked the cameraman.

The camera then zoomed in to the front door where….

"See if you can zoom in more," I said pointing to where the nephew was standing.

"I'm trying," Elena said.

She zoomed in more, the screen still moving. We both got a clear look at his face then…

"No way," Elena whispered.

"Is that Stefan?" I asked. "As in…Stefan? The Stefan we know? The one we talk to?"

"I don't know."

It seemed to be the only thing she could say.

* * *

><p>"How can we deny this anymore?" Elena asked as she paced around my room after we got home later that day. "It's right in front of us."<p>

"I…I don't know," I shook my head. "But…"

"But what?" she asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Someone who never grows old, never gets hurt."

"Someone who changes in ways that can't be explained," she continued. "There are girls being bitten, Caroline is one of them. There are bodies drained of blood….Stefan…he…it's all right in front of us."

"Talk to him," I insisted. "Whatever is going on, we can't just sit here assuming and driving ourselves crazy. We have to know for sure. At least you do."

She nodded and walked quickly out the door.

"I'll be back!" she said. I nodded, still trying to talk myself out of the…I guess the obvious.

There was just now way...he couldn't be. It was impossible.

Stefan couldn't be a vampire.


	6. Lost Girls

_***Flashback, 1864***_

_Stefan Salvatore walked quickly to the entrance of his home, placing his hands behind his back as the carriage of his family's guests pulled up in front._

_First, a dark-skinned woman was helped out of the carriage and she nodded her thanks. Then, Stefan's heart stopped at the next woman._

_She was an elegant beauty. Her olive skin was flawless with rosy cheeks, her dark hair was pulled up and pinned perfectly with curls framing her beautiful face, and her almond shaped brown eyes were mysterious and deep. She looked Stefan up and down, seeming to like what she saw since she smirked a little. The footman helped the third, and final woman out of the carriage and Stefan didn't think that she would ever be able to top the one he was currently staring at. He was wrong._

_The third woman was significantly more petite, but just as beautiful if not more. Her warm brown eyes were large and round and held a childlike innocence, her skin was pale and as flawless as the second woman, she had rosy cheeks, and her full lips were as red as roses._

_Stefan finally stepped down the stairs and began walking toward the ladies. He bowed to them slightly, looking at taller woman._

_"You must be the Pierce sisters," he said._

_"Please, call me Katherine," she said, holding her hand out to him. He took it as she curtsied to him, then he looked at her sister._

_"And I insist you call me Elizabeth," she smiled, doing the same as her sister and curtsying. "Mr. Salvatore."_

_"Call me Stefan, please," he smiled._

_In that moment, Stefan's heart was already torn in two. Both the girls held his heart from the moment he looked in their eyes. And thus began a very complicated, dangerous love story._

***Present Day***

I knocked on the door of the Salvatore boarding house the next day. It had been a while since Elena left this morning. She said she was going to talk to Stefan about what he told her last night.

Vampires, I thought. I never thought they actually existed. After Elena confronted Stefan and Stefan confirmed what we thought, Elena practically ran straight to my room to tell me what happened. She was panicking like I've never seen her, especially when Stefan showed up to try to explain things to us- things like he didn't kill people and that Damon was responsible for the people who had been dying- and beg us not to say anything. Elena had basically acted as a human shield for me as best she could and pleaded for him to leave. The look on his face was heartbreaking to me and he left, but not before I assured him that we wouldn't say anything.

Elena was going to get some answers about the whole vampire thing from Stefan today and she didn't take me with her because she didn't want me to get hurt, even though I told her I trusted that Stefan wouldn't hurt me or her for that matter. I wanted to get some answers of my own, though, and I didn't want to have the information passed on to me through Elena.

I knocked again when no one answered, this time the door opened a little like it had the first time I came over with Elena. I shivered. This creepy feeling just came over me and what was I doing? Stepping inside the house. This would be the part of a movie where everyone in the theater stands up and screams for me to not go in. Here I go anyway…

"Hello?" I called.

"Samantha!" a voice said happily.

I whirled around and there he was. Just like the first time.

"Damon," I breathed.

Just because I trusted Stefan didn't mean I trusted Damon. Especially not after Stefan told Elena and me that Damon was responsible for those people that died.

"What uh- I um…I-I thought Stefan and Elena would be-"

"Yeah they're not," he said. He smirked knowingly at me. "You know our little secret, don't you?"

I shook my head.

"No," I denied quickly.

He leaned forward, his face coming dangerously close to mine.

"Your heart beat just picked up," he whispered.

"I should go," I nervously.

I turned around to walk away, but he gripped my wrist and pulled me back.

"No, stay a while," he said. "I've come across an issue with my dear little brother and I'm stuck in this boring house all day until he gets me what I need. I could use the company in the meantime."

He brought me into the living room, where I saw someone on the couch looking less than their best.

"Aw, don't get blood on the couch," he complained.

I gasped.

"Oh my god, Vicki!" I said, ripping my wrist away from Damon and running over to her.

She had a very bloody cloth pressed on her neck where I could only assume Damon bit her. She was still breathing, thank god, but she was fading fast. Damon…tried to kill her. I brushed some of her hair back before turning to Damon.

"You did this to her," I said. "How could you do this to her again?"

"Ah, so you do know everything," he smirked as he came over and sat on the table in front of Vicki. "Please, not with the blood again."

He peeled away the cloth and looked at her neck.

"I got you good, didn't I?" he said.

"How can you act like this is a game?" I asked, staring at him in horror.

"Simple," he said. "Because it is."

He looked back to Vicki from me. I shook my head at him.

"This isn't a game," I said. "She's a human being, she-"

"She's a walking blood bag," Damon argued heartlessly. "And with the way she is right now, she's not going to be any fun today and neither are you."

He walked around the couch, staring down at Vicki as he did.

"I am so gonna regret this later," he said as he bit down into his wrist.

"What are you doing?" I asked panicked.

"Shh," he said to me, pushing his bloody wrist in Vicki's face. "I'm healing her."

"Healing-"

I stopped when I saw Vicki start drinking greedily from Damon's wrist.

"Don't drip," he told her. "Good girl. That's it."

And just like that, the wound on her neck was gone. I stared at it before looking to Damon.

"How did that just happen?" I asked.

"Vampire blood has mystical healing powers," he said. "It healed her neck right up."

I took deep breaths before sitting down slowly on the couch by Vicki's feet. She was laying still, probably sleeping now.

"Well come on," Damon said, leaning back on the couch opposite me casually. "You must be buzzing with questions as I'm sure your sister is."

"Um…" I started. "You said you ran into some problems with Stefan…"

"He took my ring," he said.

"Your ring?"

"My daylight ring," he said pointing to the finger I'm assuming he wears his ring on. "It prevents the sunlight from harming me."

Daylight ring. That must be what the ring Stefan always wears was.

"So you can walk in the sunlight?"

"Yes. Without it, I'm just your boring average vampire."

That was helpful to know for later. All I had to do was wait for Vicki to wake up and we could get out of here, knowing he couldn't come after us because of the sun.

"What about..mirrors?"

"I love them," he said. "I get to see my beautiful face."

"Figures," I said. "What about…garlic? Crucifixes? Holy water?"

"Great flavor, decorative, and drinkable," he said.

"Do you sleep in coffins?"

He laughed at that and I ended up smiling myself, though I wiped it away as soon as he stopped laughing.

"I prefer beds," he said. "You'd like mine."

"So does drinking vampire blood turn you into a vampire?" I asked, ignoring that last comment.

"No, you have to die with vampire blood in your system and feed on human blood. THEN you turn into a vampire," he answered. He saw me glance at Vicki then. "She's safe if that's what you're getting at. She'll still be human when she wakes up."

"You're not going to kill her?" I asked with disbelief.

"Well…I might," he admitted. "Depends on how bored I get. Although, these questions are doing a great job of keeping me entertained."

I stared at him for a moment before quickly thinking of more questions to ask him.

"Are there more besides you and Stefan here?" I asked.

"Not anymore," he said. "This town used to be filled with vampires and the council knew all about them."

"The council?"

"Well I don't know about now, but back then they sure did," he went on before he saw my confusion. "Oh right. They're a super secret organization."

"When you say back then…"

"Call me an old man, but back in my time," he said. "1864."

"So that's why Stefan's so good in history," I said out loud by accident.

He chuckled and nodded.

"Living it does give him a boost," he said. "You ever need help in history class, you can always go to him. Of course, you could always come to me too."

It didn't sound like he was planning on killing me, and that relieved me. Although I still didn't feel comfortable in his presence. Not with what he's done to Caroline and Vicki. The thought of Caroline angered me then.

"How could you do that to Caroline?" I demanded. "Why would you do that to her? Torture her like that? Hurt her?"

"I compelled her to forget everything," he said carelessly. "She's fine now. Save for a couple bruises, maybe a scratch or two."

"Compelled?"

"A mind control type thing," he explained. "Every vampire can do it. Of course my compulsion compared to Stefan's is significantly stronger thanks to his diet."

"He doesn't drink human blood," I remembered. "But you do."

"Guilty," he said holding up his glass of…I didn't want to think of who.

I didn't want to talk or even think about him drinking human blood, so I switched the topic.

"You said 1864 was back in your time," I began. "And you said the Founder's council knew about vampires then."

"Yepp."

"So the names on the registry at the Founder's party…those were really yours and Stefan's?"

"Yes and yes," Damon sighed. "Stefan and I were born here. Though, we didn't have this house at the time. I should take you where we used to live."

"You and Stefan were born here?"

"Indeed. The Salvatore brothers. Best friends."

_***Flashback***_

_"Wait, where did you learn this game?" Stefan asked Damon as they ran outside, in front of their home._

_"Camp outside Atlanta," Damon answered. "One of the officers picked it up at Harvard. Catch."_

_He threw the football to Stefan and charged at him after he caught it._

_"What are the rules?" Stefan asked laughing. He asked again after dodging Damon's attempted tackle._

_"Who needs rules?" Elizabeth spoke up as she stepped outside, her sister and handmaid at either side of her. Katherine smirked at the brothers._

_"Mind if we join you?" she asked stepping down the steps._

_Stefan and Damon walked in front of the sisters._

_"Uh, well, you could uh- you could get hurt," Stefan said, looking at both sisters in awe. "My brother likes to play rough."_

_Elizabeth giggled as she stepped down, joining Katherine at her side. She smiled at Damon before switching her eyes over to Stefan._

_"Nothing wrong with getting a little rough now and then," she said. "And something tells me you like to play rougher."_

_She smiled mischievously as she snatched the ball right from Stefan's hands and ran off. Katherine laughed._

_"Very smooth sister!" Katherine said running after Elizabeth._

_Elizabeth tossed the ball gracefully to Katherine and Katherine caught it with ease._

_"Why thank you sister!" Elizabeth said._

_Damon and Stefan watched the girls run off with smiles on their faces. Damon looked at Stefan._

_"Why are you just standing there?" he asked. "Those are girls who clearly want to be chased."_

_They stood there for just a while longer before Damon looked back to Stefan._

_"If you don't do it, I will," he said as he took off running after the girls. Stefan laughed and joined his brother in the chase, but he didn't know which sister he was going for._

***Present***

"You knew Elizabeth and Katherine in 1864?" I asked. "The way you talked about them made it seem like it-"

"Wasn't that long ago?" Damon asked. "When you're a vampire, the years sort of blend together. It doesn't seem like long ago to me."

"But it was one hundred and forty-five years ago," I said. "And you're still torturing Stefan over them?"

Suddenly Vicki gasped and started coughing. I jumped to her side and helped her sit up.

"Vick," I said softly. "You okay? How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," she said almost sounding surprised. "I just feel wasted."

"You might be still," Damon said. "Why don't you head upstairs and freshen up? Take a shower or something."

"Yeah," Vicki nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll…take a shower."

She stood up, obviously still feeling dazed, and made her way up the stairs slowly. I sat back down, wanting to go up to help Vicki but at the same time, I wanted to know more. About Damon, about Stefan, and about Katherine and Elizabeth. Damon cleared his throat, earning my attention again.

"Like I said, it doesn't seem like that long ago. Besides, they weren't just your average girls, especially not Elizabeth. She was very, very special."

_***Flashback***_

_Damon chased Elizabeth through the maze on his father's land, laughing as she giggled and looked over her shoulder every now and then to make sure he was still chasing her. She reached the statue at the end and laughed victoriously._

_"I won!" Elizabeth exclaimed as Damon ran the rest of the way up to her. "What's my prize?"_

_"Whatever you would like it to be," Damon smiled._

_"Brother," Stefan's voice sounded._

_He and Katherine walked up to Damon and Elizabeth, Katherine with a smirk on her face as usual._

_"They extended your leave?" Stefan asked Damon._

_"I was simply having too much fun to return to battle," Damon replied with a smile._

_"Your commitment to the Confederacy is inspiring," Stefan said walking up and greeting his brother with a hug._

_"Well this works out perfectly for us," Katherine spoke up._

_"How is that Miss Katherine?" Damon asked her._

_"Now we'll have both of you here to keep us entertained," Elizabeth smiled, walking to stand beside her sister. "First and foremost, we'll need someone to escort us to the Founder's Ball."_

_"I would be honored," Stefan said._

_"With pleasure," Damon said at the same time._

_"The smart and kind Salvatore brothers both coming to our rescue," Katherine smiled._

_"How will we ever choose?" Elizabeth asked, sharing a secret smile with her sister._

_They linked arms and walked back to the house together, sending teasing smiles over their shoulders to the brothers who were still watching them both in awe._

_***End Flashback***_

"Katherine chose Stefan," Damon said. "But not before Elizabeth chose me."

"Is that the truth?" I asked reluctantly.

"That is the truth," Damon said looking me straight in the eye. "Sam, I know that things I've said and done before may make you not trust me as much, but right now…you can ask me whatever you want and I will give you nothing but the absolute truth."

He stared at me for a while and I stared right back, deciding if I should trust him or not. My mind was screaming at me not to, but my heart was telling me that I could. I always was a sucker for the heart.

"You escorted Elizabeth to the first founder's party," I said questioningly. He nodded.

"At the original Lockwood mansion," he said.

"And Stefan took Katherine because he didn't have a choice or because Katherine didn't?" I asked.

"Both," Damon said. "Elizabeth…was everything you could ever want a girl to be. She lured you in with one smile, one laugh. Katherine was very jealous of her little sister at times, but she loved her nonetheless. When Elizabeth chose me, it made Katherine angry but she accepted and agreed to go to the ball with Stefan. Of course, at the time, Stefan had no idea that Elizabeth had already chosen and when he did find out, he wasn't very happy but, well, you know Stef."

"Just a little," I said. "But I can imagine he didn't show how unhappy he was."

"Of course he didn't," Damon smiled. "He was the perfect gentleman to Katherine. He had a genuine good time with her, but that didn't stop him from yearning for Elizabeth."

"So...what happened?" I asked.

"Elizabeth's selfishness," Damon said a bit sadly. "Although she was a very different girl than Katherine, she did have her moments where she was almost the same as her. Elizabeth…wasn't satisfied with just one of us. And Stefan sure as hell didn't stop her."

I absorbed that information. Elizabeth betrayed Damon with his own brother. Not only that, but she betrayed her sister. How could she do that to them?

"What about Katherine?" I asked.

"Katherine was upset, of course," Damon said. "But she didn't very much mind being the distraction when she needed to be. I, unlike Stefan, didn't allow her near me much."

"So because of that, you were upset with Stefan?" I asked.

"Very," he said.

"You don't just get mad, though, do you? You get even," I deduced.

He just looked at me, his face answer enough that I was right.

"Oh man, that shower was so great," Vicki said as she came down the stairs in a tank top and her underwear, a towel in hand.

"Hey, you feeling better?" I asked her as I stood up and walked over to her quickly.

"Yeah, much better," Vicki answered. She ruffled my hair. "Thanks for caring, kid. You're the best."

She stopped suddenly when she walked past the mirror, looking at her neck in shock, noticing her wound was gone. She looked from the mirror to Damon- who was now standing up against a wall, then back to the mirror, and then Damon again.

"What did you give me?" she asked him with wide eyes.

"Some blood," Damon said simply. "You loved it."

"I did?" Vicki asked, looking to me for confirmation.

I opened my mouth, but closed again. It looked like she did, but it felt too crass to tell her. Besides, I didn't know if she really did or not.

"Wait…I'm confused. How did we get here?" she asked looking around and walking to stand in front of Damon while I stayed where I was. She must have been really out of it when she first woke up.

"We met in the woods," Damon told her. "You were drunk, I attacked you, then I killed all of your friends, and brought you here. Gave you some blood. You loved it. And now, we're gonna party till the sun goes down.

Vicki seemed to be staring at him in a trance the whole time he spoke and I watched them, confused.

"Okay," Vicki said agreeably. That's when I knew Damon did something. That mind control thing…compulsion! "Um, but first, can I have another hit? That blood was so good."

She smiled and closed her eyes while Damon smirked at her.

"Only if I can," he said.

"Wait- what-"

Before I could finish my question, Vicki held out her wrist to Damon and Damon bit into his own wrist before latching on to Vicki's. She did the same to his and they stood drinking each other's blood. I had to blink a few times to make sure I was really seeing this.

"What the hell?" I managed to get out. "Damon-"

"Relax, Sammy," he said, the Damon I had been talking to earlier disappearing. "I didn't forget about you. Want a hit?"

He held out his other wrist to me with blood dripping down the side of his mouth, Vicki still drinking from his wrist. I shook my head. He groaned.

"Come on, have some fun please?" he begged.

When I didn't move, he just shrugged and went back to drinking from Vicki. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

"Elizabeth wasn't just with Damon that night," Stefan told Elena, continuing his story. "She came to me later on after I had dropped Katherine off to her room."

"So you did steal Elizabeth from Damon?" Elena asked Stefan. Stefan shook his head.

"Turns out…Elizabeth was never ours to steal," Stefan told her.

_***Flashback***_

_Stefan kissed Elizabeth as he hovered over her in bed. She quickly changed their positions, straddling his lap as he sat up and began kissing down her neck. He suddenly stopped and held her face gently in his hand, looking up at her._

_"I will love you forever," he told her._

_"Forever is a very long time, you know," she sighed as he began kissing down her neck again._

_"Not long enough," he whispered against her jaw._

_He continued kissing her and she smiled as she did so when she suddenly felt her fangs slowly start to protrude from her gums and the veins around her eyes popped out. Stefan heard the crinkling and looked up at her face. His shock didn't allow him to make a sound, not even when she sunk her fangs into his neck._

_The next morning, Elizabeth braced herself against the mirror as Emily tied her corset up. She flinched every now and then when Emily yanked the laces. She may have been a vampire, but the corsets were still uncomfortable. Stefan's eyes fluttered open, his memories of the night before slowly returning to him. He sat up in bed abruptly when he remembered what happened. Elizabeth's face…she bit him…Elizabeth smiled at him._

_"Good morning," she said calmly. "Leave the room, please."_

_Emily, knowing what her lady was, did as she asked and left the room while Stefan felt his neck._

_"You're upset," Elizabeth stated, turning around and walking toward Stefan._

_"Your face," he said with wide eyes. "It was like a demon."_

_He was confused on how someone who appeared to be so angelic could look so demonic._

_"But you're not afraid," she told him._

_"How can I not be?" he asked. She got closer. "Get away."_

_"It doesn't change the way you feel about me," she said looking him straight in the eye, compelling him. "You will not tell anyone."_

_"I-"_

_She pressed her finger to his lips._

_"We will go on exactly as we have," she continued to compel him._

_"Yes," Stefan said robotically. "We will go on."_

_Elizabeth smiled and giggled._

_"You have no idea of the future I have planned for us, Stefan," she said with a big smile. "You, me, Damon, and Katherine. No rules."_

_***End Flashback***_

"Elizabeth could control my mind," Stefan said. "And Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together. Forever."

Elena was shocked. Elizabeth…sounded childish and evil.

"Didn't work out that way," Stefan shrugged. "But Damon and I-" he crouched down and picked up a bag he had hidden. "-looks like we're stuck with each other."

He took the ring out of the bag and stared down at it.

"Like it or not," he finished.

"Is that Damon's ring?" Elena asked him.

"I took it from him, but I have to give it back," he told her.

"No," Elena said walking toward Stefan quickly. "Don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden."

"Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me."

"And how is that?" Elena asked annoyed.

"By hurting you and Sam," Stefan replied.

Elena's face softened a bit at the mention of her sister, but there was fear along with it.

* * *

><p><strong>-Sam Again-<strong>

I sat on the couch and watched as Vicki danced around the living room while Damon leaned on the couch next to me, drinking straight from the bourbon bottle.

"I am so over Tyler!" Vicki said. "So over him."

She ran over to the window and danced in the sunlight.

"I knew from the beginning that I was only a piece of ass to him, but I thought maybe if he got to know me better, he might see something more," she ranted. "But no."

"He is who he is, Vick," I said. "Everyone knows how he is with that kind of stuff."

"You're right," Vicki said as she continued bouncing all over the place. "Now, Jeremy, on the other hand, that's all he's ever seen in me is something more, and I like that."

She dropped to the floor and rolled around, giggling as she talked about Jeremy.

"I don't mean to make you feel awkward, Sam," she said. "It is your big brother after all."

"No, it's fine," I said. "You like him. I'm glad you do because he really really cares about you."

"I know he does," she smiled. She looked at Damon then. "So Elena used to date my brother and they were always together so Jeremy would always be hanging around and crushing on me and- hey, why don't you have a girlfriend? Your like totally cool and so hot."

"I know," Damon said arrogantly, sending a wink in my direction. I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway.

"Don't you wanna be in love?" Vicki asked.

"I've been in love," Damon slurred a little. "It's painful and pointless and overrated."

Of course he would think that, the only woman he loved played him and his brother.

"Except when it isn't," Vicki said, grabbing his hand and dancing around with him.

"No more talking, let's dance!" Damon said.

He and Vicki danced all around the house. My phone started buzzing then and I checked to make sure Damon wasn't watching. He wasn't even in the room so I took out my phone, seeing it was Elena, and answered right away.

"Hey," she said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at the boarding house," I said quietly. "Damon wouldn't let me leave and we ended up talking…now he's just dancing around the house with Vicki."

"Wait, Vicki's there?" she asked.

"He attacked her again last night," I said. "He gave her some of his blood and I think he did something to her because she's being really calm about the situation and she's dancing around the house with him and I don't wanna leave because-"

"Okay, calm down Sam," Elena said. "Stefan and I will be there soon."

"Okay," I nodded. I quickly hung up and put my phone back in my pocket before Damon came back down. Actually…they've been upstairs for a while.

I ran up the stairs to check on Vicki and found them in Stefan's room. Vicki was jumping on his bed while Damon was over by his desk, looking down at something with pain and sadness etched on his face. He turned his head to me and I saw his eyes light up a little. What was he looking at?

* * *

><p>"My mom spends most of her time in Virginia Beach with Pete," Vicki said to Damon while they slow danced.<p>

I stood on the opposite of the room, watching them carefully. Damon may have said that he wasn't going to hurt Vicki, but I could beg to differ. He never did tell me what he was staring at upstairs, he stashed whatever it was away so I didn't get to see for myself.

"I don't remember my dad, but from what I gather, he's not worth remembering," Vicki continues to Damon.

"Your life is so pathetic," he said with false sympathy.

"It's not pathetic," I defended Vicki. Matt too because he came from the same background.

"Yeah it is," Vicki said. "I mean, I'm the screwed up one. Matt's got it so easy. He's the golden boy. I mean, he's gonna get a football scholarship and marry Elena and have a lawn mower and have some babies and when I think of my future…I just come up blank."

"You are so damaged," Damon said with the same tone from before.

"Yep," she nodded.

"I mean you don't have one hint of self-esteem," Damon continued.

"Nope, none," Vicki said with a few tears.

I started walking over to her to comfort her.

"I think I know what can help you," Damon said.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Death," he said simply.

Before I could blink, he had snapped her neck, killing her. I gasped and stopped where I was, staring at Vicki in shock.

"She'll be out for a while," Damon said.

"How could- you just- you just killed her!" I yelled.

"Relax, she's not dead. Well, not technically," he said. "She'll come back."

"As a vampire!" I argued. "How could you do that to her?"

"Sam," he said stepping closer to me. I didn't back down from him, I stood my ground. "She was living a pathetic life. She clearly wasn't happy. As a vampire, her life will be better."

"How is it going to get better for her?" I asked. "She…what about Matt? And Jeremy?"

"She can still be around them," Damon shrugged. "She'll just want to eat them."

I stared at him, still unable to believe that he could just so effortlessly snap Vicki's neck like that.

* * *

><p>Damon walked around the room and stuck his hand in the ray of sunlight peeking in between the curtains.<p>

He hissed in annoyance and pulled his hand back when it burnt his hand.

"You deserved that," I sang.

He gave me a sarcastic smirk before Vicki waking up earned our attention.

"Vicki," I said thankfully.

"What happened?" she groaned, rubbing her neck. "We were dancing and then-"

"Then I killed you," Damon said. How could he be so easy going about this?

"What?" Vicki asked, confused.

"You're dead."

"I'm dead?" Vicki said in a disbelieving tone.

"Yeah, well let's not make a big deal out of it," Damon sighed. "You drank my blood, I killed you, and now you have to feed in order to complete the process."

"You're wasted," Vicki groaned as she stood up.

I handed her her pants and she took them with a small smile, then walked past Damon.

"You don't wanna be out there all alone," Damon warned her. She ignored him and he sped in front of her. "You're about to get really freaky."

She seemed confused about how he got there so fast, but she blinked it away.

"Ok, I had a great time, I just really want to go home."

"You're still craving blood and until you get it, you're feel very out of it. You have to be careful."

Damon's words of warning to her really scared me. Would she be that out of control that even Damon had to tell her to be careful?

"Come on, move," Vicki said trying to shove Damon out of her way.

He eventually moved aside for her.

"See, you're already starting to fall apart," he chuckled.

"Vicki, wait a second," I finally spoke up, following after her. "Just…I know you probably don't feel very good right now, but why don't you just stay here until you're better."

Where you can't hurt anyone…

"I'm going home now, Sam," she said.

"Ok, fine," Damon said.

"No," I shook my head. "Vick, just-"

"Matt's probably freaking out anyway," Vicki told me. "You know how he is."

"She's right," Damon said. "She should go. In fact, if I were you Vicki, I would stop by your boyfriend Jeremy's house."

"What?!" I demanded.

"Yeah, whatever," Vicki snapped. "Bye."

"Vicki-"

"Tell Elena I said hi," Damon called after Vicki while he took hold of my arm. "And if you see Stefan, tell him to call me."

"Damon, why did you tell her to go to my house? She could hurt Jeremy!"

"Whoops," Damon said. "Well, it's done now."

"Elena and Stefan were already on their way over here," I shook my head as I took my phone out. "Now I'm telling them to go home, Vicki can't be around Jeremy."

"Don't do that," Damon said. "If Stefan has my ring, I want him here. The sooner I get my ring, the better."

"Screw that," I snapped. "They need to go home."

* * *

><p><strong>Third POV<strong>

"That mind control thing Katherine used on you," Elena said to Stefan in the car. "Did you ever use that on Sam or me?"

"No," Stefan replied. "That necklace I gave you, it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence, but I also wanted to protect you from me."

Elena let that part sink in.

"Elena, you should never take that necklace off because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me, you'll know that you were free to make your own choice."

"What about Sam?" Elena asked then. "Did you give her vervain too?"

"That's the thing," Stefan sighed. "I had something for her, but she already had a necklace. From Chastity. Damon tried to compel her in the parking lot on the night of the homecoming game and it didn't work."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means Chastity must know about vampires because that necklace has vervain in it," Stefan replied, keeping the part about him suspecting she was a witch out of it.

"So Sam is safe from Damon?"

"Mentally," Stefan said.

Elena's phone beeped then, making her flinch slightly. She looked at Stefan and asked him to check who it was.

"It's a text from Sam," Stefan told her.

"Is she okay?" Elena immediately asked, panicking slightly. If Damon did anything to her little sister…

"She wants us to get to your house," Stefan said, reading the text. His tone dropped. "Damon turned Vicki."

"Damon turned Vicki into a vampire?" Elena asked.

"And he sent her straight to your house. If she hasn't completed the transition, Elena, she could hurt Jeremy. We need to get to your house."

"What about Sam?"

"Damon won't hurt her," Stefan said confidently. "He'll wait until the sun is down and he'll bring her home."

Elena gave Stefan a wary look, telling him she wasn't sure about leaving her sister alone with Damon, but Jeremy was in danger too. And knowing Sam, if Elena didn't get home to Jeremy, she would give her an earful.

So as much as she hated to do it, Elena turned the car around and sped home.

* * *

><p><strong>Sam's POV<strong>

"Look at that," Damon said, peeking past the curtains. "Nice and dark outside."

"So can I go home now?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Waiting until the sun went down wasn't all that bad, but I still couldn't forget how easily Damon had snapped Vicki's neck.

"Yes, you may," Damon said with a smile. "In fact, I'll escort you."

"You don't have to-"

"Oh yes I do," he said in a tone that told me I really had no choice.

I sighed and let me arms fall to my sides. "Fine. Elena won't be happy."

"All the more reason to go."

* * *

><p>"Why did you ring the doorbell?" I asked him.<p>

"It's the polite thing to do."

"It's my house," I said.

I unlocked the door and entered the house just in time to see Elena and Jeremy rushing over.

"Sam," Elena sighed with relief, throwing her arms around me. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I see you survived," I teased lightly, hugging her back. "Where's Vicki?"

"She took off," she said. "Matt and Stefan are out looking for her."

"Where have you been?" Jeremy asked in his big brother tone.

"With me," Damon answered. I shut my eyes, hoping he wouldn't cause any trouble here.

Elena immediately tried to shut the door again, but Damon was too strong for her and he managed to push it back open.

"Jeremy, go upstairs," Elena said, glaring at Damon.

Jeremy looked at me hesitantly and I nodded. He must have figured Elena would chew Damon out for keeping me out all day since he went upstairs without a word.

"You're afraid of me," Damon said in an almost amused tone. "Stefan really did spill the beans.

"Stay away from me and my sister," Elena told him firmly.

"Hey, hey, hey there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan and escorting your gorgeous little sister home. After all it's dark out, lots of dangerous creatures like to roam around at night," he smirked. "May I come in? Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited."

He stepped in, closing the door behind him. Elena stepped back away from him, pushing me behind her even though Damon was seriously the last thing I was afraid of right now. Damon stepped in front of the living room, looking around.

"We can cut to the chase if you want," he told Elena. "I'm not going to kill you right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda."

Elena didn't say anything and neither did I. I couldn't read Damon all the way, I had no idea if he was really planning on killing Elena or not. I didn't even know if he was serious about not wanting to kill me.

"So," Damon continued. "Where's Stefan?"

"He's out looking for Vicki."

"So I heard, but where."

"I don't know," Elena told him. "She ran off to who knows where."

"Don't look at me with those judgey little eyes," Damon said, stepping forward and Elena hastily stepped back. "Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Elizabeth? Or Katherine?" Elena asked.

Sucker punch, sis, I thought. I guess the Salvatores told us the same story today.

"Mmm," Damon said stepping away from Elena. "Got the whole life story huh?"

"I got enough."

"Oh, I doubt that," Damon said. He looked at me over his shoulder. "I didn't tell you everything either. There's still much more to hear about the brothers Salvatore."

Elena looked at me confused, but I kept my eyes on Damon. What more to the story was there that he didn't tell me?

He walked to the door. "Tell my brother I'm looking for him."

He opened the door and went out, but not before poking his head back in.

"Oh, tip for later," he said. "Be careful who you invite in the house."

Elena ran to the door as soon as he closed it and immediately put all the locks on, like it would keep him out if he really wanted to get inside.

"Did he hurt you?" she immediately asked me.

"No," I shook my head. "I'm fine. We just…we talked for most of the day."

"So you're okay?"

"Yes, Elena. I'm fine."

She looked hesitant, but then her gaze dropped to my necklace.

"Chastity gave you that, right?" she asked.

"Yeah…"

"It's got vervain in it."

"Wait what?" I asked. "What is vervain?"

"Damon skipped over that part, figures," she muttered. "Vervain it's…Stefan said it's an herb that protects you from compulsion."

"Yeah, compulsion he tells me about but not vervain," I said. "How would my necklace have vervain though?" That would mean Chastity…knows."

The thought of my best friend knowing about vampires worried me for her, but it also kind of hurt me. She kept it from me. She gave me a necklace of vervain, which meant she knew there were vampires around but she didn't tell me…then again, I guess I could understand why. Who would believe something like that if they didn't see it for themselves? I guess it was better of me to find out through Damon and Stefan. Still, knowing about vampires could be dangerous for Chastity and I didn't want her to get hurt.

"She must know," Elena said. "That's the only explanation."

"Does your necklace have vervain?" I asked then. "Stefan gave that to you right?"

"He wanted to protect me from Damon," she said. "He had one for you, but he found out Chastity already gave you one."

I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Are you okay?" I asked then, realizing I hadn't even asked yet. "You talked to Stefan today?"

"Yeah…he told me about his life before, meeting Katherine and Elizabeth, and…his relationship with them."

"Oh."

"You said you talked with Damon? About what?" she asked.

"How they turned, when they turned, Katherine and Elizabeth…"

"The same stuff Stefan told me?" she asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "They came from very different sources, so who knows."

Elena sighed and looked down. I noticed her breathing getting quicker and quicker, like she was hyperventilating. I rushed to her side and put my arms around her.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said. "With Stefan. It just- it's too much. I can't…I don't think I can…"

"Shh," I said. "You've had a long day. Why don't you just…sleep on it. Get some rest, that's what you need."

"What if Stefan comes back?" she asked. I couldn't help but hear the slight fear in her tone.

"I'll talk to him," I told her.

"No, Sam, I don't want you even having anything to do with this," she said. "You shouldn't know about this. This is too much for anyone to know-"

"I can handle it," I assured her. "I'm a big girl now, Elena. I can handle it."

She sighed, but nodded. "Thanks."

"Of course," I smiled. "Now get some rest."

She blew some air out of her cheeks and went upstairs, leaving me downstairs alone.

* * *

><p>Not too long after Elena went up, I saw Stefan walking up to the house with blood on his shirt. I immediately went outside.<p>

"Are you okay?" I asked rushing over to him. "You're bleeding."

"No, it's ok. It's ok, I'm okay," he assured me.

I saw through the hole in his shirt that he was healed of whatever it was that made him bleed and I felt relieved. He was okay. I just hoped now that Damon was too.

"What about you? Are you okay? Damon didn't do anything to you, did he?" he asked looking me over.

"I'm fine," I said. "We talked. It actually wasn't that bad."

He furrowed his eyebrows but seemed to accept it when his eyes locked on my necklace.

"What about Vicki?" I asked. His eyes met mine again. "Did you find her?"

"Yeah," he sighed, leaning against the pillar. "I found her…but I couldn't stop her."

"So she fed," I said, looking at down at the porch.

"She fed," he confirmed. "And then I lost her."

"Oh my god," I said. "So she…she's a vampire now?"

"Yeah, but I'll find her," he assured me. "I'll find her and I'll show her that she can live like I do. I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody, Sam. I promise you."

I closed my eyes and looked back down.

"What about Jeremy and Matt?" I asked. "What do we tell them?"

"We'll come up with a story," he said. "She woke up, she's finally getting help."

"Like rehab?" I asked. "She went to rehab?"

"It'll be something like that anyway," he said.

I swallowed, not liking the idea of lying to Matt or my brother, but it was best. If Stefan could help Vicki then she could get control and not hurt anyone. Maybe this could really help her work through her drug problems too. I had to look on the bright side here. This could all work out…

"Okay," I said finally, nodding. "Yeah. That's….yeah. That's good."

Stefan stared at me for a moment before he spoke again.

"I uh…I didn't get a chance to talk to you today," he said. "I know last night-"

"Yeah," I said. "Um…I went to your house today because…for some reason I figured you guys would be there after breakfast, but Damon was there and he kind of kept me hostage."

"And you talked today?"

"Yeah," I said. "We talked."

"About?"

"Um," I sat down on one of the porch chairs. He followed my lead and sat on the one closest to me. "He told me about how you guys used to be best friends. You had a really close relationship until…"

"Elizabeth and Katherine came," he said.

"The way he talked it was like…the world revolved around Elizabeth," I said. "He said Katherine was jealous of Elizabeth, especially when the Founder's Ball came around."

Stefan nodded and leaned back in his chair.

"It wasn't…one of my proudest times," he admitted. "Elizabeth…she just drew you in."

"Yeah, he said something like that too," I said. "She must have been pretty amazing."

I looked over at him to see him staring at me intently. He blinked and looked away when I looked at him, though.

"She was," he said.

"I'm sorry," I said suddenly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," I repeated. "Katherine and Elizabeth wedged themselves between you. Well, Elizabeth mostly, but still. And even though neither of you did much to help the situation, it's still terrible to think that it ruined your relationship with your brother."

Stefan stared at me before giving me a small smile. "Thanks." Then he seemed to remember something. "Hey, is Elena still here?"

"She's getting some rest," I told him. "She said some things…I told her to sleep on it. She had a long day."

"She doesn't want to see me anymore, does she?"

The way he said it didn't seem like he was very sad about it. Almost like it was expected.

"You should talk to her about it," I said. "Tomorrow. She'll be rested up, fresh mind. She'll be okay tomorrow."

He nodded and stood up. "I'm gonna…get going then. The sooner I find Vicki, the better."

"Yeah," I agreed as I stood up. "Let me know when you find her?"

"Of course," he smiled.

I smiled back and watched as he sped off to look for Vicki. Even if Elena still had her mind set on not seeing Stefan in the morning, I was still going to talk to him. Stefan was a good guy. He was a great guy.

I sighed and went back in the house, hopefully to get some rest myself.


	7. Haunted

**And with this chapter, the story is officially caught up to the other. The updates will be coming slower now, but I won't make you guys wait forever. Just so everyone knows, there's links on my profile so far to Sam's locket, her Founder's party dress, and now her costume for this chapter.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Oh and I forgot to disclaim before, but I own nothing- obviously- except Sam, Elizabeth, Chastity, and all other original characters.**

* * *

><p>I woke up the next morning to a text from Stefan. I immediately opened it and let out a sigh of relief. He and Damon found Vicki. Wait…Damon? Damon helped find Vicki? Why would he do that when he was the one to set her loose in the first place? Unless…maybe…<p>

Maybe him helping Stefan was a sign. That is, if that's what Damon was doing. Maybe there was hope their relationship could be saved. Damon just had a lot of anger he needed to let go of.

I sat up when I heard knocking at my door.

"Sam? You awake?" Elena asked through the door.

"I'm up," I told her.

She opened my door and poked her head in.

"Jeremy went to go join a search party to look for Vicki," she said. "I didn't stop him. I don't know what to tell him."

I pressed my lips together. I hated keeping things from him, but maybe we could get away with telling Matt and Jeremy she went to rehab. Then again, they would want to see her. Maybe…

"Should we tell him?" I asked. "About…you know, the whole-"

"No," she said immediately. "No, I don't want him having anything to do with this. It's way too dangerous for him to know."

"But maybe it'll be better," I said. "I mean, Stefan didn't tell you and look how well that turned out."

She sighed, looking like she was actually considering it. Then she shook her head.

"No," she said firmly again. "We can't tell him. Not yet anyway. Let's just get through today and then we'll deal with it."

"Okay," I said reluctantly.

I didn't want my brother to be in danger, but the idea of him not knowing about this stuff just seemed less safe than if we just told him. I left it up to Elena though. She was the oldest of the three of us, so it was her call.

"I just feel bad letting him go out there to look for her," Elena continued. "I know they're not going to find anything."

"Yeah, Stefan said he found her. Him and Damon," I told her.

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"When did he tell you that?" she asked warily.

"Just this morning," I said holding up my phone. "He texted me."

She folded her arms and sighed. It was the sigh that said she didn't like something I said.

"Sam, I thought really hard last night," she said. "And a lot this morning and…I don't think I should see Stefan anymore. It could put Jenna, Jeremy, you, and me in a lot of danger. I mean, Caroline was example enough that Damon is willing to hurt anyone to hurt Stefan."

"Then you should tell him," I said, looking at my feet.

Honestly, I was sad that she didn't want to see him anymore, but in the end it was her choice. If she thought not seeing Stefan was best for her, then that's up to her. I noticed then how silent she had been, not even saying anything to my previous suggestion. She wanted me to tell him, didn't she?

"Elena-"

"Please, Sam," Elena said. "I can't see him. Not for a while at least."

"You're not even going to go to the boarding house to at least see Vicki?"

She bit her lip, pondering over it. Finally she sighed.

"I'll drive us there before we go to school," she said. "And I'll tell Stefan myself."

* * *

><p>Elena had changed her mind at the last minute about going to see Stefan. She was pacing around in her room while getting ready to school and she must have over thought something that made her change her mind about going over there to see him. She didn't even want me going over there, but she didn't stop me either. I could tell she was truly afraid of facing the Salvatores- mainly Damon- so I told her I could maybe drop a hint to Stefan about how she felt without actually telling him anything. I could tell she wanted me to tell him outright she didn't want to see him anymore, but she took what I offered anyway.<p>

I knocked on the door of the boarding house, waiting patiently for someone to answer. Despite what I told Elena I'd do for her, I was here for another reason. I had to see how Vicki was doing for myself. Besides that, I couldn't just cut Stefan out of my life like Elena. He couldn't control what he was and he didn't want to hurt us.

My voice died when the door opened and Damon's smirking face appeared in the doorway.

"Well hello dear Samantha," he greeted. He looked around the porch. "No big sister to hide you from me?"

"She went ahead to school," I told him.

"Does big sissy know that you're here?" he challenged with a raised brow and folded arms.

"She does."

"And how does sister dearest feel about you being here?"

I gave him a hard stare and pursed my lips slightly.

"I'm here to see Vicki," I said through narrowed eyes. "You know, the one you turned?"

"Getting snippy on me," he said amused. "Come on in."

He opened the door wider for me and gestured for me to go in. I stepped in only for him to step closer to me at the last second, eliminating any space between us and making my body brush against his. I tried to control my rapid heartbeat and slipped the rest of the way in and crossed my arms across my chest, giving him a look. He simply smirked at me in return.

"What?" he said innocently.

I just shook my head at him.

"Well as much as I'd love to stay, I need to be somewhere," he said winking at me. "I hope to see you around later."

He left, closing the door behind him. Stefan came half-way down the stairs before stopping when he saw me.

"Sam," he said partially surprised and happy.

"Hey Stefan," I smiled.

He walked down the rest of the stairs until he was standing before me.

"I, uh, I didn't know that you were coming over."

"I'm sorry. I should have called or something," I told him sheepishly.

"Hey, you don't have to," he smiled. "You can come over whenever you want. Does Elena…"

"Yeah," I nodded my head. "I wanted to check on Vicki, and you, and she was going to come at first but..."

"She still doesn't want to see me anymore, does she?" he asked.

Like last night, he sounded more like he expected it than sad about it.

"I think you two should talk about that," I said. He nodded understandingly. "Anyway, how's Vicki?"

"I- I'm working with her, but it's gonna take some time," he explained. "She's a volatile and impulsive personality. She's a drug user. I mean, all that's gonna play a part in how she responds to this."

I nodded, taking it all in. The idea of Vicki as a vampire never really resonated well with me, but it's too late now. I knew that Stefan felt responsible for her since he feels it's his fault Damon's here hurting people. I wanted to help him with her. After all, I basically just stood there while Damon fed her his blood and killed her. Besides, I wanted to help her adjust so she could go back to Matt and Jeremy without running the risk of hurting them.

"It's going to take time. Do you-" I began, but stopped. I wasn't sure how to ask this, I mean, I never thought I ever would be asking about something like this. "Do you…need any help? I mean- is there really anything that I can do to help you help her?"

"No," he said instantly. It actually worried me a little how fast he said it. "No, you don't need to do anything. It's actually safer if you don't. The- the smell of your blood…"

He trailed off, but he didn't need to say anymore for me to understand what he was getting at. It would be hard for Vicki to learn control with me around. It'd be like teaching an alcoholic control in a bar.

"Got it," I nodded.

Stefan stiffened a little before his eyes went to the front door.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

I was answered by the front door opening and Elena poking her head in before looking straight at us. Crap.

"Hey," she said warily to Stefan.

"I thought you weren't coming," I said.

"I uh…"

"You wanted to check on Vicki," Stefan said.

"Yeah," Elena said uncomfortably. "How is she?"

"How am I?" a voice sounded from the top of the stairs.

Stefan, Elena, and I all looked up to see Vicki leaning over the balcony on the stairs.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked Elena.

Maybe she's not so good then.

Stefan explained to Vicki about how she could drink animal blood instead of human blood, and how coffee was her new best friend. He mentioned how he wasn't proud of his past behavior, which peaked my interest and obviously made Elena even more uncomfortable than she already was. I wondered what Stefan had done in his past that made him stiffen up like he was at the moment. Everyone makes mistakes, surely anything he did wasn't totally unworthy of forgiveness.

Vicki seemed to be taking everything in fine enough. The only thing she really couldn't understand now was why she had to pee.

"I thought I was dead, why do I have to pee?" she asked.

She got up and left the room. A silence fell over the three of us and I looked from Elena, who was staring at the floor looking like she wished she hadn't come, to Stefan, who met my gaze and gave me a small smile. I smiled back before looking at my phone. I had three missed calls and twenty text messages from a very impatient best friend…

Realizing this was the perfect opportunity, I stood up.

"I um, I'm gonna go call Chastity quick," I announced to Stefan and Elena. "I'll be back."

Elena gave me her 'help me' look and Stefan nodded, the look on his face telling me he knew what I was doing. I swiftly left the room and went to the front hall by the door, pulling my phone out and calling my best friend.

"Where in the hell are you?" she demanded after picking up right away. "I have something to tell you and I'm literally bursting with impatience here."

"I figured," I said to her. "So what's going on? What do you need to tell me?"

"Um…actually, I shouldn't tell you this over the phone? When are you going to be here?"

A crashing in the other room earned my attention.

"Sam? What's going on?"

"I'll call you back, Chas," I said.

I hung up despite her protests and hurried in to the other room only to find Vicki pinning Elena to the wall by her neck.

"Vicki! Let her go!" I said rushing forward.

"And you!" Vicki hissed turning on me.

She released Elena, letting her drop to the floor like a rag doll, and suddenly appeared right in front of me. I gasped and backed up as she glared at me.

"Poor innocent little Sammy needs her big brother so he doesn't pay as much attention to me," she spat. "Quit judging Jeremy! He's a big boy, let him make his own decisions!"

With that, she disappeared, leaving me and a wheezing Elena alone. I immediately rushed to my sister's side, helping her stand and making sure she was okay as Stefan rushed in to the room.

"What happened? Are you alright?" he asked, directing both questions to me.

"I'm fine, I just came in here and Vicki attacked Elena…I'm not sure what happened," I rushed out.

Stefan looked at Elena, waiting for her to explain.

"I said something about it not being safe for her to see Jeremy," she said. "She got angry."

"Let me see your neck," Stefan said gently.

"It's fine," she insisted. "I'll…probably just have a bruise or something."

I moved her hands aside to see for myself and exchanged a look with Stefan, who nodded in agreement with what she said.

"That's all you said and she just snapped?" I asked. It's not that I doubted Elena was telling the truth, I just couldn't believe Vicki snapped over something small like that.

"She's on edge," Stefan said. "Every sense in her body is operating at super speed. It could take months before she even begins to control it."

Elena nodded, looking worried, unhappy and…uncomfortable again.

"She does need to stay away from Jeremy, though," Stefan continued.

"What, you don't think she could actually hurt him, do you?" I asked.

"When you're new, it's hard to separate your feelings," he said looking at us seriously. "Love, lust, anger, desire…it…can all burn into one urge: hunger."

The harshness of the reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Vicki couldn't be around anyone for a while, especially not Jeremy and, now, Elena given the way she reacted to her when she said that she couldn't be around Jeremy.

"Let's go, Sam," Elena said then. "I'll drive you to school."

I looked from her to Stefan, who seemed to notice how uncomfortable Elena still was around him. He looked at me then.

"I'll, uh…I'll catch up to you later," he said.

I nodded and waved at him before following Elena out of the house. She seemed to finally start breathing again as we got to her car.

"You know, you don't have to be so obvious about it," I said to her.

"I can't help it," she said. "I just…I don't know."

"Did you get a chance to talk to him?"

"Vicki came back downstairs before I could and he went to get her more…"

"Blood," I finished.

She winced but nodded. She really wasn't handling this whole vampire situation very well. Which made me wonder…wasn't Elena's reaction normal and mine…less normal? Why was I taking everything so well? I guess different people handled things differently.

* * *

><p>"I should kill you!" Chastity snapped at me as soon as I saw her at school.<p>

Elena and I had gotten there a little later, so we went straight to our first classes. This was my first time seeing Chastity today now after said class.

"I'm so sorry! I was so tired last night and I just knocked right out and I woke up late this morning-"

"That's not why I wanna kill you right now! You had me worried sick on the phone, then you just hang up? What was all that noise?"

I considered telling her the truth for a moment, but there were too many people around us, too many people paying attention to what we were talking about. Besides, it wasn't my secret to tell. So I told her a story about waking up late and knocking over a picture frame or two. She eyed me suspiciously for a moment and the look on her face told me she knew I was lying. I sighed and gave her a look that told her we would talk about it later. She sighed then and looked away.

"Are you going to the carnival tonight?" she asked then.

"I was thinking about it, why?"

"Well you're going now and because I got you a costume."

"I could just wear last year's-"

"No way," she said. "You are not going in last year's couple costume. For all we know, Peter Pan could be going again this year and we are not going to give him any more hope by having Wendy Darling show up too."

"You're right," I said with a firm nod.

Last year, Adam and I had gone to the school's Halloween carnival as Peter Pan and Wendy Darling. It probably wouldn't be good for Adam to move on if I showed up as Wendy again.

"So you're going as an angel," Chastity said then.

"An angel?"

"Yeah, I originally got it for me, but I got roped in to being a witch."

"How'd you get roped in to being a witch?" I asked curiously.

"Originally, Caroline wanted for her, Bonnie, and Olivia to go to the carnival as a trio of witches, but Olivia already has her heart set on being a slutty cat to get Jeremy's attention. So instead of giving up the slutty cat costume- which we all know isn't going to work anyway- Olivia offered me up as the third witch instead and Caroline, shockingly enough, accepted and now even has Bonnie begging me to take the costume."

"I'm surprised you're actually going to do it," I said.

"Normally I wouldn't do squat for Caroline, but Bonnie begged me to so…yeah," she shrugged. I nodded once.

"Have fun with that."

* * *

><p>Later that evening, I prepared myself in my room for the Halloween carnival. Chastity's costume actually fit me perfectly, which probably meant it was a little short on her since she was a good three inches taller than me. I brushed through my waves once more before fastening two parts back in a half up do with a white clip, and then I put the halo headband on to complete the costume.<p>

Elena had already gone ahead to the carnival with Jeremy since he was determined to get there, which honestly surprised me. He wasn't one for going to school events lately…well…not really ever. I told Elena I'd be fine and that I would meet her there, which made her try to convince me to stay home in case Vicki showed up. I was quick to remind her that Stefan wouldn't let Vicki show up if she wasn't in control. She hesitated still, but eventually was okay with me going.

The doorbell rang, making me furrow my eyebrows. Chastity wasn't supposed to be here for another fifteen minutes.

"Oh Samantha! Fair Samantha!" a teasing voice called from downstairs.

I rolled my eyes. Of course he'd just walk in. I sighed and walked down the stairs to see him leaning up against the front door with a smirk on his face as he looked me up and down.

"What are you doing here, Damon?" I asked him.

"You look ridiculously hot in that," he said. "You make a sexy angel."

"Thanks," I said, trying hard not to blush. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd pick you up."

"And take me where exactly?"

"To the school, of course," he said obviously. "Can't have you going alone now can I?"

"How'd you know Elena and Jeremy already left?"

"I didn't," he smirked. "I was going to take you even if they were here and…if I was feeling nice, I would have offered them a ride too."

I gave him a look.

"Okay…maybe I wouldn't have."

I sighed and went to go back upstairs.

"I'll get my phone," I said.

"Nice underwear!"

"Damon!" I shouted, whirling around and sitting quickly on the step behind me.

He laughed at my reaction while I narrowed my eyes at him.

"That wasn't funny!"

"To you it wasn't."

* * *

><p>Damon and I arrived at the school a little later. I had texted Chastity on the way over and let her know that I had gotten another ride to the school. She was okay with it since Olivia was "taking for gosh damn ever to squeeze in to her whore cat costume". She told me that the two of them would be here within the next ten minutes.<p>

"Sam!" I heard Adam's voice call me.

"Ooh, look what we have here," Damon teased.

"Be nice," I begged.

He held his hands up innocently as Adam walked over, clad in his Peter Pan costume from last year.

"Hey," I smiled.

"Hey," he smiled back. "I uh…I see you got a new costume. You look great."

"Chastity actually got it for herself," I told him. "Caroline got her to be a witch though."

"Fitting," Adam muttered.

"Be nice," I laughed.

Adam finally seemed to notice Damon was there.

"Oh, hey," he said. "It's…Damon right? We met at the Founder's Party?"

"Right," Damon smiled. "And you are…Adam. The cheating ex-boyfriend."

"Damon," I hissed.

"Yeah…" Adam said slowly, guilt clearly in his voice. "I didn't know that you and Sam talked so much."

"Well she and I have grown very close," Damon said. "We share a lot of secrets. Tell each other lots of things about our past."

"Right," Adam nodded slowly.

"So are you having a good time?" I asked him, trying to shift the subject to something else.

"Trying," he said. "There's this girl...I really care about her, but I really messed up with her." My smile faded, knowing it was me he was talking about.

"Adam, I-"

"Don't say it," he said smiling weakly. "I know I don't deserve it. I don't deserve you. Everything was great, but then I did what I did. There's no excuse for it."

"At least you're owning up to it," Damon said. "Finally realizing that little miss cheerleader Stacey wasn't worth it."

"It's okay," I said, glaring at Damon. "I got over it. You can too. We've been doing great as friends."

"You're right," Adam said. "I…I'm gonna go find Tyler. I heard he's got his Lockwood special."

"Okay," I nodded with a small, sad smile.

He walked off and I turned to Damon, glaring at him.

"What?" he asked.

"How do you know what happened between us? How did you know about Stacey?"

"Read your diary."

I gave him a look.

"Caroline blabbed."

"Great," I said.

"Sam," Stefan called suddenly with Elena behind him. "Have you seen Jeremy?"

"No," I said. "Why? Is...is Vicki here?"

He nodded and took my hand.

"We've got to get you and Elena out of here and find her."

I suddenly felt myself being yanked out of Stefan's grasp. I looked shocked at Damon, who was looking at Stefan through annoyed and livid eyes.

"You take Elena and look around in here," Damon said. "I'll take Sam and we'll look outside."

Stefan stepped up to his brother.

"You actually think I trust you to take her outside alone?" he questioned Damon.

"You're wasting time, brother," Damon said, not backing down and not releasing my hand.

Stefan looked away from Damon to me. I nodded after a moment.

"He's right," I said. "We're wasting time. Besides, we'll cover more ground if we split up."

Stefan still didn't seem convinced.

"I'll be safe," I assured him. "I…I trust Damon."

Elena was looking at me with clear disbelief. Stefan slightly winced at my words, but seemed to accept and trust my faith in Damon. He led Elena through the halls while I turned to Damon, who had a surprised expression on his face.

"What?" I asked, genuinely confused. He shook his head quickly.

"Nothing," he said. "Let's go."

* * *

><p>Damon and I had searched outside for any sign of Vicki or my brother, all the while Damon avoided saying anything about whatever was clearly still on his mind. We had just rounded a corner when Damon stopped me suddenly and stood still.<p>

"What?" I asked him.

"I hear your brother," he answered.

"Where?" I asked with wide eyes.

He stood for a moment, carefully listening. He straightened up and grabbed my hand.

"Around back," he said. "Might be faster if I…"

I got the hint and nodded, giving him permission. He quickly scooped me up like I weighed no more than a feather.

"You may wanna close your eyes," he warned.

I clamped my eyes shut, flinching only a little when I felt us start to move. The wind blew my hair in my face and I could feel some of it getting caught in my lip gloss. Gross. We stopped and I felt Damon set me down before I opened my eyes, gasping at what I saw.

Vicki was on the ground, her skin grey and a mask of sheer surprise mixed with pain on her face. She was…she was dead.

I looked up from Vicki's dead body to see my sister standing by Stefan, clutching on to her neck where she seemed to be bleeding.

"Elena," I said rushing to her side.

"Sam," she breathed, wrapping her arms around me when I got to her.

"You're bleeding! Oh my god, what happened?" I asked hurriedly.

"Vicki…" was all she said. "I'm fine though. Stefan saved me."

I looked over at Stefan, who looked incredibly guilty. I knew by that that he was the one who killed Vicki to save Elena. I furrowed my eyebrows then. Damon said he heard Jeremy. So where was he? Elena seemed to catch on to my thinking and she nodded over to the left. I followed where she was looking and saw Jeremy, my big brother, on the ground crying Vicki's name. He had seen. He had seen everything.

Unlatching myself from Elena, I went straight to Jeremy and gently wrapped my arms around him, my heart breaking even more when he clutched on tightly to my arms. I heard Elena ask Stefan to take both of us home and I didn't have the heart to argue with her. I didn't want to leave Jeremy. Plus I didn't want to know what they would do with Vicki. The only thing running through my mind was that Jeremy had lost yet another person he loved. I didn't know how he was going to make it through this.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

After Stefan got Jeremy and Sam out to his car, Elena looked at Damon with hard eyes.

"You might wanna go with them," Damon said, not in the mood for her judgment. "That bite looks nasty."

"This is your fault, you know?" Elena spat. "Vicki is dead because of you."

"You confuse me with someone with remorse," he said. He caught her hand when she tried to slap him. "None of this matters to me. None of it."

"People die around you, how could it not matter? It matters and you know it!"

She caught him off guard and slapped him.

"You need to leave. Your wounds are bleeding and you need to leave," Damon said dangerously.

Elena glared at him in disgust.

"I don't know what she sees in you or how she trusts you," she said before storming off, leaving him alone.

Damon stood there silently for a moment. He didn't know what Sam saw in him either. He'd been nothing but a cocky, psychopathic jerk who had done nothing to deserve her trust, yet she trusted him anyway. He had lied to Elena earlier. This did matter to him. Not because of Vicki, or because of Jeremy, but because of her. Maybe…maybe Sam was starting to make him feel again. Maybe she was starting to fix him.

* * *

><p>Damon arrived at the Gilbert house later after burying Vicki in the woods and saw Stefan and Elena outside on the porch talking.<p>

"Can you make him forget?" Elena asked.

"Elena…" Stefan sighed.

"Stefan, please," she begged. "I don't know how he'll ever get past this. I just want him to forget everything that happened."

"If I did it, there is no guarantee that it would work," Stefan told her. "Because of who I am, how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right."

"I can do it," Damon finally spoke up, earning their attention. He walked closer toward them and looked at Elena. "Where is she?"

"Inside with Jeremy," she replied stonily.

"They fell asleep about ten minutes ago," Stefan told him.

"Well, I'll wake him up and I'll do it," Damon said. "What do you want him to know?"

"Why would you do this?" Elena asked. "Why would you help?"

"I have my reasons," Damon said. "First one being I can't have your brother running around blabbing about the existence of vampires."

Elena stared at him for a moment while Stefan looked away, knowing that even though that may be a reason, it wasn't the primary reason why Damon was willing to compel Jeremy. Elena hesitated, but told Damon to tell Jeremy a story about how Vicki ran away and that even though he'll miss her, he'll know it's for the best. Damon didn't have a problem with it, neither did Stefan. It was her next request that surprised them and somewhat angered them.

"Can you make Sam forget too?" she asked.

"What?" Damon asked incredulously.

"She's younger than Jeremy is. He shouldn't know, so neither should she," Elena said. "She's too young to be involved in this.

"Well she is," Damon said. "I'll compel Jeremy, but not Sam."

With that, he walked in to the house to do just that. Elena turned to Stefan then.

"Why won't he compel her?" she asked.

Stefan just shook his head.

"I don't know," Stefan said. "But it's probably best if he doesn't."

"So you want her involved in all of this?" Elena asked with a hard tone.

"I don't want her to get hurt, but I also don't want to take her choice away," Stefan said.

Elena scoffed, not liking the idea of having her little sister involved in a dangerous situation, before going back inside the house to wait for Damon to be done.

Upstairs, Damon finished compelling Jeremy and lifted Sam up from his bed. He carried her in to her own room and tucked her in her bed, stroking her hair gently before kissing her cheek and turning her light off.


	8. 162 Candles

**Quick question guys, do you like the Sam/Damon pairing (or Damantha as my friend puts it) or would you be more in to a Sam/Stefan pairing?**

**I'm just curious because the friend I have editing says that she likes Sam and Stefan together. That's not the plan, but again I'm just curious. **

**So what do you think? Sam and Damon or Sam and Stefan?**

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

"Come on, let's go! I mean, what's keeping you here!" a very pretty blonde vampire said to Stefan.

Stefan's oldest and best friend, Lexi, had surprised him earlier that day by visiting him on a very special day: his birthday.

She and Stefan were catching up, he was telling her about some of the things that have been happening in Mystic Falls and was warning her that she needed to be careful while there. She had informed him that she was not staying for long and that Bon Jovi was going to be performing in New York in the Garden.

"I told you," he said in response to her trying to coax him in to leaving Mystic Falls.

"Right, Elena," Lexi said. "And who was the other one? The ever mysterious Samantha?"

"That's them," Stefan confirmed with a nod.

"Well let's hope they're better than the last girls you got all sprung over," Lexi sighed as she walked over to the desk in Stefan's room, holding up the pictures of Katherine and Elizabeth.

Stefan smiled a bit and took the photos back.

"You didn't even know Katherine or Elizabeth," he said.

"Cause if I did, I'd kick their asses," Lexi retorted. "Especially Elizabeth's. Little bitch. Speaking of, where's Damon?"

"Inflicting misery somewhere," Stefan answered. "You gonna be okay here alone? Cause I got some things I gotta take care of."

"It's not exactly like I can go anywhere," Lexi complained, looking outside at the sunlight. "And you and Damon are the only ones with these nifty little daylight rings."

She smirked as an idea popped in her head and she held up her hand.

"I have a mood ring from '75. Trade ya?"

He smirked at her and shook his head.

"Doesn't work that way and you know it," he told her.

"Yeah," Lexi sighed.

"Hey Lex, I'm really glad you came here," he told her sincerely.

"Ok, what are we doing for your birthday?" she asked teasingly. "It's not everyday a guy turns 162 years old."

"Really?" Stefan groaned.

"Oh, yeah," his best friend grinned.

* * *

><p><strong>-Sam's POV-<strong>

I walked down the steps of the police station with Jeremy, Elena, and Jenna. Sheriff Forbes had questioned Elena, Jeremy, Matt, Stefan, and I about Vicki.

The cover story- as I was told this morning- was that Vicki ran away. I felt guilty for lying and letting Sheriff Forbes- and Matt- believe Vicki left town. What made me feel even worse was that they were so willing to believe it because of her serious drug problem. I wished that the lies were true. I wished Vicki really ran away because at least then she'd still be alive and she'd still have a chance.

Life wasn't fair sometimes though.

What I didn't understand was Jeremy. He had lied so easily and last night he had been so broken up about it all. By the time I woke up this morning I had to rush to get ready because Sheriff Forbes wanted to talk to us right away, so I didn't get the chance to talk to him about what happened last night. I assumed Elena had, but I didn't get the chance to ask her.

"I'll meet you guys in the car," Elena said suddenly.

I looked over at her then followed her gaze to Stefan. I gave him a small smile and waved my greeting. He returned the smile and waved back, but that smile was quickly dropped and replaced with his usual brooding face when Elena walked over.

I turned to Jeremy then.

"How are you doing?" I asked him. "You seem a lot better than you were last night."

"Yeah, I guess I was just shocked," he said. "I mean I didn't expect Vicki to really up and leave town like that."

I furrowed my eyebrows. He was talking to me, he knew I knew what really happened so why did he keep going with the lie?

"I'll miss her, but I think it's for the best," he said then.

That…that's exactly what he told Jenna- and no doubt Sheriff Forbes- earlier today. Word for word. Did…

I glanced over at Stefan and Elena, the latter who was now turning and walking away from the former. They wouldn't…

* * *

><p>"You did what?!"<p>

"Sam, it was the only way!"

When we got home, Elena went upstairs to her room and I followed her. I told her about what Jeremy said to me while she was talking to Stefan and she confessed to asking Stefan to compel Jeremy to forget what really happened to Vicki and make him believe that he left town, but in the end it had actually been Damon who compelled him due to the fact that Stefan's diet would make it almost impossible for his compulsion to work right.

The fact that Elena wanted to heal Jeremy's pain was understandable, but she didn't have the right to mess with his mind and make him forget her like this! It wasn't up to her, it's Jeremy's life.

"I can't believe you compelled him," I said. A thought came to me then. "What about me? Did you ask them to compel me too?"

She looked guilty.

"Yes," she admitted. "But…neither of them would do it."

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Stefan didn't want to take your choice away," Elena told me. "And Damon…who knows."

Damon. Maybe I really had made a friend in him. Even though I was so angry at him for turning Vicki in the first place, the thought actually made me happy. The fact that he didn't want me to forget about what happened to Vicki, that he and Stefan didn't want to take my choice away. It really made my heart flutter…

"Are you mad?" Elena asked worried.

I didn't have the heart to be. What she did was wrong, downright controlling, but she had good intentions. She just didn't want to see our brother hurt and I could understand that.

"No," I sighed finally. "I just…I wish you wouldn't have done that to him."

"It was the best thing for him," she said. "You saw him last night, Sam. It was like mom and dad died all over again."

She was right.

* * *

><p>Later that day, I sat upstairs in my room. I wasn't sulking, more like brooding. Brooding over everything that's happened.<p>

Jeremy was downstairs doing homework. Not a big deal, he just…hasn't done homework in a very long time. There was that, then there was Jenna. The Vicki action made me completely forget that Logan Fell died, but not before trying to get back together with Jenna. Now, Jenna believes that she was sent a crappy, brush off email from him saying that he was leaving town. I felt worse for lying to Jenna about what was going on since she was our guardian, but it was for her protection. At least that's what Elena has been trying to convince me of.

In short, Jenna was sulking, Elena was sulking over the end of her relationship with Stefan even though I still believe that one is completely fixable, and Jeremy was doing homework. Jenna decided to follow his example and went to work on her thesis while Elena went to her own room to sulk in her bed. I hated that my sister was feeling down, so I did what I had to do and called in reinforcements. Bonnie should be here any minute.

A knock sounded on my door and before I could say anything it was being thrown open and there was a certain unhappy looking blonde standing in the doorway.

"You have been shirking big time on your best friend duties," Chastity said scoldingly.

I groaned and hit forehead with the palm of my head.

"Right!" I said. "You wanted to tell me something! I'm so sorry, it's just that with everything that happened with Vicki-"

"I get it," Chastity said as she walked over to my windows. "But still, you know, ya might wanna make some time for your best friend who has something incredibly mind blowing and important to share with you."

"Okay, share," I encouraged her.

"First, you need to be sworn to secrecy," she said.

"I swear I won't tell anyone," I said honestly. "Now…what is it? It's not something bad is it?"

"Just…wait for it," she said with one finger up.

She closed the curtains and then her eyes.

I tilted my head a bit in question, but before I could say anything all the candles in my room lit up all at once. My eyes widened. I had a total of 38 candles in my collection that my mom got me started on and they all just…lit up. By themselves...

"Oh my god…" I said amazed. I looked at Chastity who now had her eyes open. "How did-"

"That's not all," she said. "Is the air conditioning on? Or any fans."

"No…"

She walked over to my bed and ripped one of my pillows, letting the feathers fall all over my bed. I stared at her questioningly, ready to question what she did that for, but all the words died in my throat when the feathers lifted in to the air. It was almost like a snowfall had frozen while snowflakes were still falling. It was…beautiful…even more so in the soft light glow the candles gave off.

I laughed and sat up on my knees, putting my hands under the floating feathers. Chastity made this happen! That had to mean…

"I'm a witch! It all makes sense now. I mean, it's impossible…but it's all true!"

She seemed excited, but I could also tell she was nervous about it. I sat back and looked at her.

"Why would you tell me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Because you're my best friend," she said obviously. "I tell you everything."

The happy moment was shattered and replaced by a sick feeling of guilt again. No matter how much I wanted to, though, I couldn't tell her. Stefan and Damon being vampires wasn't my secret to tell.

Maybe I didn't have to though. I didn't have to tell her exactly _who_ was a vampire, just that vampires existed. I mean, by what the Salvatores and Elena told me she already knew judging by the vervain in my locket.

I swallowed and sat back down and looked at her.

"Chas," I said softly. "There's something we should talk about."

The feathers dropped.

* * *

><p>"Whoa," she said after I told her about vampires. "Just…whoa."<p>

I didn't tell her who was a vampire, she figured Vicki was turned in to one on her own.

"How long have you known?" I asked her.

"What uh…what makes you think I knew?" she asked slightly nervous.

"The locket you gave me," I said. "It has vervain."

"So you know what that is," she said to herself. "Glad they told you about it. Witches know about vampires, my aunt was the one who told me after your dinner party. Bonnie's Grams hasn't told her yet and she's asked us not to say anything to her. I didn't tell you because I thought you'd think I'm insane."

I smiled, letting her know I understood before I frowned again.

"You said you're glad they told me about it. Who's they?" I asked.

She got fidgety and looked down nervously.

"Chas," I pressed.

"I know about Stefan and Damon," she said finally.

* * *

><p>Later, I was at the boarding house with Elena. Since Elena and I were in their circle of trust, we were able to talk about how our best friends told us they were witches.<p>

"I don't know what I'm doing here," Elena said after we got to the door.

"Well you're here now," I said with a shrug before she sighed again and rang the doorbell.

"It's open, come on in!" a female voice called.

Elena furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me, as if I knew who that was. I shrugged and opened the door, letting Elena and myself in the house. We stepped further in and looked around for the source of the voice for a bit before we were met by a blonde girl with nothing but a towel wrapped around her naked body.

"Oh my god," she said, taking a step back when she saw us.

I glanced over to my sister, who seemed just as surprised to see her. The girl lifted a finger.

"How- uh-"

I furrowed my brows in confusion. She seemed to be at a total loss for words and I had no idea why. I don't think Elena even noticed since she was too distracted by the fact that there was a practically naked girl in the Salvatore house.

"Who?" the girl finally managed to get out after much struggling.

"I'm Elena," Elena said pointing to herself. "This is my sister, Samantha. Who are _you_?"

I almost rolled my eyes at Elena's tone. It was very "this is _my_ boyfriend's house and why are you almost naked in here?".

"Lexi," the girl introduced, still slightly baffled. "A friend of Stefan's."

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at her.

"Is he here?" Elena asked.

"He's in the shower," Lexi told us. "Do you wanna wait?"

"No."

"Sure," I said at the same time.

Elena and I looked at each other.

"Uh…I can tell him you stopped by?" Lexi offered.

"That's okay," Elena said uncomfortably.

She nearly ran out of the house and I sighed before looking over at Lexi.

"Go ahead and let him know we came by," I said kindly. "And tell him happy birthday for me."

She smiled at me and nodded. "I'll tell him."

I smiled once more at her before going outside to my very confused sister.

* * *

><p><strong>-Third POV-<strong>

Lexi waited until the girls were gone before she ran upstairs to Stefan's room where he was just getting his shirt on.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" she demanded as soon as she stepped foot in his room.

"What are you talking about?" he asked confused.

She went over to his desk and picked up the pictures of the two bitches she hated from the stories, showing him the one she hated least first.

"I just met Elena," she said waving Katherine's picture before switching to Elizabeth's. "And her sister, Samantha."

Stefan took a step forward, knowing he was in for it with his best friend.

"You have some serious explaining to do."

"You have some serious emotional damage," Lexi concluded after Stefan finished his story.

"No, it's not what you think," he insisted. "Elena is not Katherine and Sam is definitely not Elizabeth."

"Then they're all related because Katherine and Elena could be twins. Same with Sam and Elizabeth."

"I don't know," Stefan said.

"You don't know? You didn't find out?" Lexi questioned.

"No, maybe I don't wanna know," Stefan told her. "I have- I have no desire to tie Elena to Katherine or Sam to Elizabeth."

Lexi looked away from her compact mirror and gave him a look.

"Okay, yes, yes the resemblance is what drew me in. Elena looking so much like Katherine and then I stayed because then I met Sam and saw how she resembled Elizabeth, but that's it. Katherine and Elena may look alike and Sam and Elizabeth may look alike on the outside, but they are all completely different people on the inside."

"Oh so Elena's not a sidekick, side chick bitch and Sam's not a raging, psychotic bitch then, huh?" Lexi smirked.

"No," Stefan smiled. "Sam is..she's kind. She's warm and loving and…selfless. She's always there for the people she loves and she's been an amazing friend to me. Elena…elena's also warm. She's like Sam, she's kind, and caring, and selfless…and it's real. Honestly, when I'm with her…I forget what I am."

"Oh my god," Lexi said softly. "You're in love with her."

Stefan just smiled and nodded slightly.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah I am."

* * *

><p><strong>-Sam POV-<strong>

"Stefan!" I exclaimed as I came down the stairs.

All I heard upstairs was "Right. The girl in the towel." I knew I needed to step in before Elena said something else she'd regret.

"Hey Sam," Stefan smiled.

I rushed up to him and pulled him in a tight hug.

"Happy birthday!" I told him.

"Thank you. I still can't believe you remember. I told you once."

"I have a thing with dates. They just stick in my head," I told him.

"It's your birthday?" Elena asked surprised.

"Yes, Elena. Remember he told you the night of the back to school bonfire when you guys were talking. You told me like…everything."

Elena blushed heavily. I turned back to Stefan then.

"Hey, where's your _friend_?"

"My friend."

"Yeah, Lexi."

I gave him a look and subtly glanced at Elena. His mouth formed an 'o' in understanding.

"She's at the Grille," he said. "I'm meeting her there later."

"Oh so you're going to Caroline's party to celebrate your…162nd…birthday?"

"Ugh, Lexi's dragging me," he told me.

"How long have the two of you been friends?" I asked truly curious.

"A very long time," he replied. "She's…350 years old. My oldest friend."

"Oh so she's a vampire?"

Elena stiffened at the word, but I ignored it.

"Yes."

"And there's nothing romantic there?"

"Not ever."

I smiled again before looking over at Elena, who seemed very ashamed for jumping to conclusions and she also looked very relieved.

"Oh," she said. "Okay. Well…she kept staring at us. It was weird."

"Well, I talked about you a lot. And I've told her a lot about Sam too and what a great friend she's been. She probably felt like she knew the two of you," Stefan said.

I could tell Elena needed to talk to Stefan about whatever it was she was going to the house for earlier, so I excused myself and told them I needed to grab my phone from upstairs- which wasn't a total lie since it was still in my room- to give them the chance to talk.

I went in my room and checked my phone, noticing five text messages and three missed phone calls. I also had a couple voicemails. All from the same person. Mister Salvatore. And not the one downstairs.

Message 1: **Come to the Grille. I'm bored and need entertainment.**

Message 2: **I don't usually use this word, but PLEASE come to the Grille!**

Message 3: **Samantha Gilbert if you are ignoring me it won't end well for you.**

Message 4: **Sammy pleeeasse come. I miss your company.**

Message 5: **Pretty please? :(**

I didn't even bother to listen to the voicemails since I was 95% sure that they were saying the same thing his texts were saying, just in his voice.

"I actually think I'm just going to stay in tonight," I heard Elena tell Stefan.

"No she's not!" I called down.

I poked my head down the stairs. Stefan looked amused while Elena was half glaring at me and half looking at me with a "why?" expression.

"We are going to the Grille to help Stefan celebrate his birthday. Whether you like it or not Miss Elena Gilbert."

"Are you…are you sure Sam's the little sister here?" Stefan asked Elena amused.

"Not always," she sighed.

* * *

><p>"The fair Samantha finally graces this dump with her presence!"<p>

I rolled my eyes.

"Hello Damon," I greeted.

I had come to the Grille with just Stefan. Sometimes, my darling sister could be more stubborn than me. Stefan saw Matt as soon as we entered and he went over to him to try to clear the air about him really wanting to help Vicki. That was when Damon came over to me.

"I got a hello. That's better than the cold shoulder," he smirked.

"Figure I should cut you some slack since I'm sure you'll be getting worse when my sister comes," I told him with a smile.

That's right. Elena would be coming sooner or later tonight.

"Ah. Big sissy isn't happy. Does it get tiring for her? Being so righteous?"

"It might flare up in the presence of psychopaths."

"Ouch. Well consider this psychopath's feelings hurt."

"Damon," Stefan greeted his brother stiffly. "Sam, you alright?"

"I'm fine," I assured him with a smile. "Now let's go. Give me a proper introduction to Lexi."

"You got it," Stefan chuckled.

I walked past Damon with Stefan toward the pool tables where I saw that familiar head of long blonde hair.

"Lexi!" Stefan called to her.

She looked over with a big grin that faltered just a tiny bit when she saw me. It turned back to a smile though and she came right up to us.

"You're the famous Samantha," she said.

"Oh, call me Sam," I told her. "My ancestor was Samantha Gilbert."

Stefan furrowed his brows a little at the name of the ancestor I was named after, but I didn't think much of it. Stefan seemed to have furrowed brows often.

"Okay Sam," Lexi smiled. "I'm Lexi. It's nice to meet you fully clothed."

"That was an awkward situation," I admitted. "I'm really sorry about that. I hope Elena didn't give you the impression she didn't like you."

"Well. Not really," Lexi lied. I stared at her momentarily before she relented. "Okay she really did."

"I'm sorry," I said. "She's just…confused with the whole…situation. The vampire thing."

"Oh, well that's understandable," Lexi said. "I just hope she comes around for Stefan's sake."

"Oh she will. Give her time. Two hours, max," I told them. "Now, Mister Salvatore, let's get to celebrating your birthday! Let's party!"

Lexi laughed.

"I like her," she told Stefan.

* * *

><p>We danced, we talked, we laughed, and we played pool. Stefan, Lexi, and I had an amazing time. Lexi even referred to the three of us as the three musketeers when a group of three guys challenged us to a game of pool. We beat them, no problem. She also told me about her human-turned-vampire boyfriend.<p>

"You turned him?" I asked.

She looked at me with a smile.

"When it's real, you can't walk away," she said.

I frowned, but then smiled.

"I like the way you think."

About two hours in to the party, Elena showed up. I smiled, happy that she came, and excused myself from the current match between Stefan and Lexi.

"You came!" I said happily.

"Better to be here than sitting at home wallowing," she told me, watching Stefan and Lexi with a smile.

"Why don't you go over there?" I suggested. "You'd like her. She's super nice and really cool."

Someone suddenly stepped in our line of vision, blocking the view of Stefan and Lexi. He turned his head toward us and I sighed. Damon.

"Stefan smiles. Alert the media," he taunted Elena.

"You haven't given him many reasons to smile," she shot back. She turned to me. "Maybe I will go introduce myself."

She walked up to Stefan and Lexi then, leaving me with Damon. She must have really trusted he wouldn't do anything in a public place, which made me somewhat happy. She was starting to accept the whole vampire thing, little by little.

"Well that was just rude," Damon said, feigning hurt. "Maybe the psychopath wanted to talk to your sister."

"Okay, psychopath, let me ask you something," I said stepping closer to him. "What did you do to Jeremy and why?"

"I'm going to need a less vague question, Sammi dear."

"When…Elena asked you to do what you did to his memory. Why did you do it? And what else did you do?"

"I took away his suffering," he said simply. "Elena asked me to delete all the fangs and rawr and crying, so I did."

"And why did you do that?"

"Well I didn't need your brother blabbing to anyone that would listen that vampires exist," he said.

I opened my mouth and closed it again. I needed to know the answer to this next question badly.

"Why didn't you do it to me?" I asked. "I know Elena asked you. So why didn't you?"

Damon looked truly stunned, like he hadn't expected me to ask. Either that or he just didn't know the answer.

"I-…because…"

Instead of answering, he turned and walked away. So much for getting an answer from him.

* * *

><p>The party ended. I decided to give Elena some time with Stefan and Lexi while I spent it time with Chastity. I had already told Stefan Chastity knew about him and Damon and he was fine with it. He wasn't surprised she was a witch, he suspected it, and he had hoped that now that they knew about each other that they would become friends. I hoped the same and Chastity was sure that they would get along fine.<p>

I didn't notice when the cops, led by Caroline's mother, barged in and dragged Lexi away. It wasn't until when she got home that Elena told me Lexi was killed by Damon right in front of Sheriff Forbes. That's why I was racing to the boarding house now.

"Stefan!" I called when I got inside.

I entered the living room where I found him sitting on the couch, holding a glass of bourbon. He turned his head to me, following me as I walked around the couch to him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I heard about Lexi," I said. "Elena told me. Stefan, I'm so sorry."

"I almost killed him," he confessed. "I almost killed my brother for what he did, but your sister was right. No matter how much…pain he causes, I wouldn't be able to go through with it."

I sat beside him as he took a drink from his glass.

"You know, Elena was right from the start," he continued. "You two really should stay away from me."

"Stefan-"

"Wherever I go, Damon follows. Wherever Damon goes, pain and death and suffering follow," he said. "It's a never ending cycle and I'll never be rid of him. And now…he just went too far."

I could see the unshed tears shining in his eyes and my heart broke. I scooted closer to Stefan and wrapped my arms around him. His head drooped down on my shoulder and he cried for his lost friend while I comforted him. From the corner of my eye I saw a shape enter the living room silently and I switched my eyes to his, a glare on my face.

Damon watched his brother and I know I saw a flash of remorse on his face. That made my face soften. He regretted it. He still killed Lexi, but he regretted it. Any other psychopath would have reveled in the kill, but I know he wasn't reveling.

He regretted it.


	9. History Repeating

"I need your help," Chastity said urgently the next morning. "Yours and Elena's."

I had just gotten to school with Elena when Chastity ran up to me, begging to talk to me alone. Elena walked off with Caroline and Olivia to give us our privacy.

"With?" I questioned.

She looked around briefly before turning back to me and leaning in slightly.

"Bonnie," she answered.

"What's wrong with Bonnie?" I asked instantly concerned for her.

"She's been having these weird dreams," Chastity said. "They're all of Emily and she slept-walked to the cemetery."

"Wait, what?"

"Bonnie woke up in a cemetery this morning," she elaborated. "She has no idea how or when she even got there, but she did."

"Do you know?" I asked.

Chastity pressed her lips together and released a big breath of air through her nose.

"I have an idea," she admitted. "The crystal."

"That crystal Damon gave Caroline?" I asked with a raised brow.

Bonnie had told Elena and I all about the ugly crystal Damon gave Caroline, who then gave it to Bonnie when she was done with Damon. As far as I knew, Caroline was trying to get it back from Bonnie- most likely for Damon and who knew what he wanted it for. I wanted to ask him, but I knew he wouldn't tell me.

"That's the one," Chastity confirmed. "Dammit, I don't know what to do here."

"Calm down," I said gently at her stressed tone. "Have you talked to your aunt? Or Bonnie's Grams?"

"They both said that Bonnie needs to embrace it and listen to Emily," she replied. "Is it bad that I'm glad I'm not the one being haunted here?"

I sighed and looked at her.

"What about Olivia?" I asked then. "Does she even know?"

"Aunt Claire has told her numerous times that we're witches, but Little Miss Livia is a master in the art of denial," she sighed. "I even showed her the feather trick and she didn't believe it."

"She's been told she's a witch and after you showed her that, she still doesn't believe it?" I asked surprised.

"Nope."

I didn't know what to say after that. You could only go so long denying something with it right in your face. I have learned that over the past couple months.

"Come on," Chastity said then. "We'll be late for class."

I blinked again, still thinking about the dreams Bonnie's been having before following Chastity inside the school.

* * *

><p>"So he's letting you do extra credit to get back on track?" I asked Jeremy.<p>

He and I were walking through the halls together a little later on and he just told me about his meeting with the new history teacher, Alaric Saltzman. He said Mr. Saltzman made a deal with him; Jeremy writes a paper for extra credit and his grade shoots up like a rocket. A clean slate from Mr. Tanner.

"Yeah," Jeremy said happily. "I have a week."

"That's awesome," I grinned. "I'm so glad he's giving you another chance."

"Believe me, so am I," he said.

His attention was pulled away then by something behind me so I looked over my shoulder to see what and saw Stefan watching us, seeming to be waiting until we were done talking.

"Hey, I gotta get to class," Jeremy said then. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see ya," I smiled.

Jeremy walked away, sending a glance in Stefan's direction. I walked up to Stefan then and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

"You had Elena worried," I told him, recalling how she texted me saying Stefan wasn't in class. She was really worried he killed Damon and went in to some self-destructive mode after. I assured her that Stefan didn't kill Damon, I was at the house long enough to be sure he didn't.

"I know," he said looking down. "She told me."

"You talked to her?"

"Outside, yeah," he nodded. "She's…not very happy with me right now. Which is a good thing."

"Okay…why?" I asked.

He sighed.

"I'm not coming to school anymore," he said. "I'm going to…distance myself from it."

I stared at him, shocked and hurt. I knew when he said he was going to distance himself, he didn't just mean from school.

"You're doing it to protect Elena, aren't you?" I asked knowingly.

"Not just Elena, you too," Stefan insisted. "Damon is dangerous. Lexi was proof enough that he's willing to hurt anyone, even though he claims that was to keep the town off our tracks."

Kill your brother's best friend to protect him and yourself. I had to admit it made sense, but at the same time it was cruel. Lexi didn't deserve to die and Stefan didn't deserve to lose her.

"He has a reason to stay," I realized then. "That's why he did it. Why does he want to stay?"

"He won't tell me," Stefan groaned. "I'm going to try to find out though."

I bit my lip and nodded.

"Okay," I said simply. "So…say you do get Damon to tell you what you want to know…what then?"

"Try to convince him to leave town. Once I'm sure he's gone…maybe I'll leave too. It would make sense, now that Zach's gone."

"You know you don't have to do this, Stefan," I said softly. "You don't have to pull away from us."

He shook his head.

"I want you to be safe," he said. "Your safety and Elena's are what matter here. Not what I want. I'm sorry, Sam."

With that, he turned and walked away before I had the chance to say anything else. It hurt and I knew Elena would be hurt, but I knew it wasn't our call. I would miss my friend and I knew Elena would miss him since I knew she loved him, even if she didn't realize it herself, but it was his choice.

* * *

><p>"Damon did what?" I demanded.<p>

Chastity, Elena, Bonnie, and I were in Bonnie's car after school on our way home. Bonnie had just told us all about Damon coming to school and threatening her.

"He scared the crap out of me," Bonnie said. "He's bad news, guys."

"You need to stay as far away from Damon as possible, Bonnie," Elena told her.

"I'm trying!" Bonnie insisted. "He just keeps showing up!"

"Maybe I should pay him a visit," Chastity said. "Aunt Claire's been showing me lots of new spells that can hurt…certain types of people."

I shared a look with her and shook my head. She couldn't hurt Damon, not without risking Damon hurting her back or worse.

"I don't want to kill him, I just want him to leave me alone," Bonnie said.

I sighed.

"You know what, you shouldn't be alone. You're sleeping over at our place tonight," I told her. Then I looked at Chastity. "Both of you."

"Yeah, we can make a whole night out of it," Elena agreed.

Bonnie stayed silent for a moment before pulling over in to a field by the side of the road.

"Whoa," Elena said.

"What are you doing, Bonnie?" Chastity asked.

Bonnie got out of the car and walked toward the field.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked while I furrowed my eyebrows.

The three of us in the car watched Bonnie with curious eyes as she took the necklace off and threw it as far as she could in to the field. She came back looking satisfied with herself.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked like she was losing it.

"Now I am," Bonnie answered. "All my problems were because of that thing. Can't believe I didn't do that sooner."

"You know what your grams is gonna say," Chastity warned.

"Well she's not the one being haunted by a 150 year old ghost, is she?" Bonnie retorted.

"Alright then," I said.

Bonnie began driving back on the road again as I wondered if she was really going to be okay now.

* * *

><p>Elena had her method of getting Damon to back off and that consisted of talking to Stefan and indirectly asking him to get Damon to leave Bonnie alone. My method…<p>

"Stay away from Bonnie," I demanded.

My method consisted of telling Damon straight up to stay away from her.

He smiled at me, seeming amused as he leaned in the doorway of the Salvatore boarding house.

"Well hello to you too, Miss Gilbert," he teased. "Yes, it is a fine evening."

"I'm serious Damon. Leave her alone," I said.

"Tell her I want my necklace back and I will," he shot back.

"What do you even want it for?" I asked exasperated. "Why are you so desperate to get it back?"

"I'm not desperate to get it back," he denied.

"Then why keep bothering Bonnie? Why threaten her and scare her like you did today?" I questioned.

He stared at me for a moment.

"Because it's my crystal and I want it," he said. "It was promised to me by a certain someone Bonnie has a connection to."

"And who is that?"

"Emily Bennett."

I was taken aback. Emily Bennett? As in…Bonnie's ancestor Emily Bennett? Why would she promise Damon her crystal?

"Judging by the look on your face, I take it you know exactly who that is."

"Bonnie said it's a witch's talisman. Emily's talisman. What use to you have for it?" I asked him.

He smirked at me.

"Wouldn't you and Stefan love to know," he said. "Not that I haven't enjoyed this conversation, I was just on my way out. Care to join me?"

"Actually Elena's expecting you back home," a new voice cut in.

Damon's smirk grew and I turned around, seeing Stefan standing just a couple feet behind me. He looked from Damon to me and I could tell by the look in his eye that he wasn't happy I came to see Damon alone.

"How did you get here?" he asked.

"It wasn't that far of a walk," I shrugged.

"Where does Elena think you are?"

"Getting a couple movies," I replied. "I got them on the way here, I-"

"I'll take you back home," Stefan interrupted. "Let's go."

I sighed and bit my lip. His tone didn't leave much room for argument. Besides, Elena was expecting me back home and she already wasn't going to be happy when she found out I came here without telling her. So I followed Stefan to his car, rolling my eyes when Damon said goodbye in that flirty tone he had taken to using with me far too much.

When we were a good distance away from the boarding house, Stefan spoke.

"Care to tell me what you thought you were doing back there?"

I sighed again. Here we go.

* * *

><p>"Did you think that would work?" Stefan asked me after I concluded my short story about what happened at the boarding house before he got there.<p>

"Yes. No. Not really. I was hoping it would," I said.

We arrived at my house and he got out of the car, speeding over to my side and opening my door before I could. I gave a mock curtsey to lighten the mood, which worked since he gave me a small smile and a mock bow. We began walking up to the front porch and I continued.

"I just couldn't let him get away with threatening Bonnie," I said. "I know that I'm probably the last thing he finds terrifying, but…I don't know. I was just so angry at him and when he said he wanted the necklace."

"He told you he wanted it?" Stefan asked surprised. "What else did he say?"

"He said that it was promised to him. By Emily Bennett," I informed him.

I frowned at the look on his face.

"Okay…your face just went in to Stefan brooding mode," I stated. "Did you know Emily?"

"Emily was Katherine and Elizabeth's handmaid," he told me. "That necklace belonged to Elizabeth, given to her by Emily."

"And Emily, for some reason, promised it to Damon," I finished. "So…he either wants that necklace because it belonged to Elizabeth or…there's another reason behind it all. Maybe something to do with why he's still here."

Stefan nodded slowly, his face showing he was still in deep thought.

"I'm going to talk to Damon," he said. "Get some answers out of him."

"You think he'll tell you?"

"I won't give him a choice."

I nodded and set my hand on the door knob.

"Good luck then," I smiled. "Try brother bonding with him."

He gave a small smile.

"No guarantee that'll work, but it's worth a try."

We said our goodbyes and I entered the house. I walked to the kitchen when I didn't see anyone in the living room, frowning immediately when I noticed the tense air in the room. Bonnie, Elena, and Chastity were standing frozen staring wide eyed at Caroline who was holding…the crystal Bonnie threw away in an empty field.

"What's going on?" I asked slightly freaked out.

* * *

><p>"I'm not lying, Caroline. I swear," Bonnie insisted.<p>

Caroline had dropped the crystal on to the counter where the rest of us left it, almost afraid to even touch it. Bonnie had told Caroline earlier before I came in that she threw the crystal away and then Caroline found it in her bag when she was looking for Bonnie's manicure kit.

"It's true, we all watched her throw it in a field," I defended Bonnie.

"Well then explain it," Caroline demanded in a haughty manner.

Bonnie looked away from her to Chastity, Elena, and I.

"Emily," she suggested.

Elena sent Bonnie a look of confusion while Chastity and I exchanged surprised glances. Was this Emily?

"Who's Emily?" Caroline questioned.

"The ghost?" Bonnie reminded Elena.

"Oh, the ghost has a name now?" Caroline mocked in disbelief.

"Caroline, please," Elena said, patiently asking Caroline to stop with insensitivity.

"I wonder why she won't leave me alone," Bonnie said.

"She wants something from you," Chastity said. "But what?"

"Okay, what is going on?" Caroline burst. "Why am I not apart of this conversation? You guys do this to me all the time!"

That caught me off guard and I didn't know what to say. It wasn't a lie, especially in regards to Elena and Bonnie, but I didn't want her to think that. She was clearly hurt about the situation.

"That's not true," Elena told Caroline.

"Yes it is," Bonnie contradicted, sending Elena a look.

She addressed Caroline then.

"I can't talk to you. You don't listen," she told her bluntly.

"That's not true!" Caroline immediately denied.

"I'm a witch," Bonnie told her straight up.

My eyes widened and I looked to Caroline for a reaction.

"And don't we all know it?" Caroline said rolling her eyes.

Ah. So that's what Bonnie was going for.

"See? That's what I'm talking about! I'm trying to tell you something, you don't even hear it," Bonnie shook her head hurt.

Bonnie stormed out and Caroline scoffed.

"I listen," she insisted. "When do I not listen?"

"All the time, shallow one. All the time," Chastity said.

I gave Chastity a scolding glare before following after Bonnie to comfort her.

* * *

><p>A while after the small blowout, I returned to the kitchen to join Elena and Chastity so Caroline and Bonnie could talk things out. We were listening in to make sure everything went alright, which we weren't very subtle about since Caroline told Bonnie she knew were listening to her every word. We giggled a little at that and came in to the living room when Caroline called to us.<p>

"Well there is just way too much drama in this room," Caroline began. "So what do you guys wanna do?"

"Sam got some movies," Chastity began. "We could-"

Caroline gasped suddenly.

"I have an idea," she announced.

Chastity gritted her teeth and I patted her shoulder.

"Down killer," I mumbled to her.

"I will strangle her," she mumbled back.

"Why don't we have a seance?" Caroline suggested.

Elena and I made faces while Chastity flat out shot the idea down.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Bonnie said.

"Come on! Let's summon some spirits," Caroline persisted. "This Emily chick has some serious explaining to do."

My eyes automatically went to Bonnie, giving her a questioning look. She shrugged in return and sighed before nodding reluctantly.

"Okay," I said. "Let's…have a seance."

Before I knew it, we were all sitting in a circle in the darkness of Elena's room lightly illuminated by the soft glow of the candles in the center. I was sitting between Chastity and Caroline, prepared to act as a wall if I had to, and our hands were all joined together.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie asked then.

"I don't know," Elena answered.

"Sh. Be quiet and concentrate," Caroline ordered. "Okay, close your eyes."

I did so reluctantly.

"Okay, now take a deep breath."

I heard everyone follow her lead and take a deep breath.

"Okay Bonnie call to her," Caroline instructed.

"Emily. You there?" Bonnie said flatly.

I opened my eyes, seeing everyone else had too.

"Really? 'Emily, you there?' That's all you got?" Caroline mimicked Bonnie. "Come on."

"Fine. Jeez," Bonnie groaned.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes again, an action I followed.

"Emily," she said strongly. "I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen."

The heat from the center of the circle suddenly got more intense and my eyes flew open to see that the flames had grown at least twice their original size before dying back down. Our hands disjoined from shock.

"Did that just-"

"Yeah, that just happened," Caroline cut Elena off.

A sudden breeze went through the room, sending chills down my spine. Caroline visibly shivered and Bonnie immediately blamed it on the air conditioning before the candle flames flared up again.

"Ask her to show you a sign," Caroline told Bonnie. "Ask her."

Bonnie shook her head, her eyes filled with fear.

"Emily, if you're among us, show us another sign," Caroline called.

We all stared down at the candles, almost afraid of what might happen. After a moment of nothing happening, Bonnie spoke up.

"See? It's not working," she said.

I wasn't entirely convinced and I wasn't sure why, but the loud banging of the windows opening served as reason enough why I shouldn't have been.

We all jumped back and Bonnie shot up like a rocket, yanking the crystal off from around her neck and declaring she was done with the seance. The candles suddenly went out and sent Bonnie in to instant panic mode, begging one of us to get the light.

"Hold on, I got it," I assured Bonnie as I rushed to turn the lights on.

I looked to her as soon as they went on, seeing relief wash on her face temporarily before it was replaced once more by fear and panic as she looked down at the candles.

"You guys," she said. "The necklace, it's gone."

We all looked at the spot by the candles where she let the necklace fall. My eyes widened when I saw nothing there but pools of hardened wax on the floor. Where was the necklace?

Elena accused Caroline of taking the necklace, asking as nicely as possible to give the necklace back. Caroline denied it, of course, she didn't take it. I immediately defended Caroline to my sister, believing with all of my heart she was telling the truth and that something else was going on here. Something like…Emily.

Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention as it had Caroline's then. It was a shadow, darker than the darkness of the hall.

"Jeremy? Jenna? Are you guys home?" Elena called.

She walked to the doorway, peering out in to the hall.

"This is super freaking creepy," Chastity whispered. "I hate this feeling I'm getting."

"Um…guys," Bonnie said suddenly.

I looked and saw her walking slowly in to the bathroom. She picked up what I assumed was the necklace before my view of her was cut off by the bathroom door slamming shut. I flinched before running up to try to open it. Elena came running back in to the room after hearing Bonnie's screams, begging us to open the door.

Chastity and I ran out to the door in the hallway while Caroline and Elena tried to open the door in her room. I even went to the door in Jeremy's room, trying my best to open it but it wouldn't budge. The lights started flickering and Elena started calling Bonnie's name louder, the panic in her voice increasing while Bonnie's screams increased.

I ran back to Elena's room with Chastity after giving up on Jeremy's door after Chastity had given up on the hallway door.

The lights stopped flickering as suddenly as Bonnie's screams had stopped. Elena and I looked at each other and the door unlocked, slowly opening to reveal Bonnie standing with her face in her hands.

"Bonnie?" I sighed walking up to her. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She brought her face up and looked at me.

"I'm fine," she replied stoically. I stared at her confused.

"Unbelievable," Caroline scoffed. "You were totally faking it."

I continued to stare at Bonnie. Something wasn't right…

"I'm fine," she assured me. "Everything's fine."

She glided past me and past Elena as I stared after her, dumbfounded. Something definitely wasn't right with her.

I walked to the stairs with Elena and Chastity behind Bonnie. Caroline continued complaining, expressing disbelief over how she fell for Bonnie's scared act. I didn't think it was an act at all. Bonnie was terrified and now she was too…calm.

"Bonnie…are you sure you're alright?" Elena asked.

"I must go," she replied shortly.

"She's leaving, I'm leaving," Caroline said.

"You guys can't leave," Elena protested.

"Oh, I can. I've had enough freaky fake witch stuff for one night," Caroline snapped.

"Okay whatever, no one cares," Chastity shot back. "Bye Caroline. Nice seeing you. Really."

"Thank you for having me," Bonnie spoke up politely. "I'll take it from here."

She began going down the stairs.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Back to where it all began," she replied without turning around.

Elena went to go after her, asking her to stay and that's when it came to me. The reason why Bonnie was acting so calm…she wasn't Bonnie. She was-

"Emily!" I called.

She turned and I heard Elena and Chastity gasp.

"I won't let him have it," she told us. "It must be destroyed."

She went out and I quickly ran down the rest of the stairs to go after her, hearing Elena and Chastity rush to follow too. I managed to make it outside before I heard the door slam shut, trapping my sister, Chastity, and Caroline in the house.

"Emily, wait!" I called after her.

She stopped halfway to the sidewalk and slowly turned.

"Tell him I am sorry," she said. "But I can't allow this to happen."

"Allow what to happen?" I questioned, still trying to catch my breath from the action.

"I must go now before it is too late."

She began walking away again just as quickly as she had before. Barely paying mind to Jeremy who was just getting home, I ran after her until I was at her side.

"Emily, what do you mean when you say you can't allow this to happen?" I asked.

"There is so much he has told you, yet so much he hasn't," she said. "I know you want to trust him, but you should not."

I knew she was talking about Damon, but I had no idea what she meant. I did want to trust him and I knew that I shouldn't, especially after all he's done. What was he still keeping from me though? What more could there possibly be to know?

* * *

><p>We arrived at Fell's Church shortly after leaving the house. I wasn't surprised. This was where Emily brought Bonnie in her dreams.<p>

"Hello Emily."

I jumped at Damon's sudden greeting while Emily stopped walking. When did he get here? How did he even know she was here? His icy eyes switched to me then.

"Sam. Pleasure as always," he smiled before it dropped when he looked back to Bon- Emily.

"You look different," he said to her.

"I won't let you do it," she told him.

"We had a deal," Damon reminded her.

I had no idea what was going on and as badly as I wanted to ask, I knew neither of them were going to answer me. Now I knew how Caroline felt before when she was left out of the conversation- ironically about this.

"Things are different now. I have to protect my family," Emily told Damon.

"I protected your family. You owe me," Damon said angry.

"I know," she said regrettably. "I'm sorry."

"You're about to be a lot more than that," he said before lunging at her.

"Damon, no!" I finally spoke up.

Emily was able to stop him, though, using magic. With a motion of her hand, he was flying back toward a tree where a branch impaled itself through his chest and left him pinned up against the tree. I gasped and my hands flew to cover my mouth in surprise. I shook myself out of it quickly and rushed toward him.

"Damon," I said, hating hearing and seeing him in pain.

I placed my hand on the branch and bit my lip. How was I supposed to get him out of this?

"Okay, just hold on," I whispered.

"Sam," he groaned.

"Sam!"

My head turned and I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Stefan running toward us.

"Stefan. Help him," I pleaded.

He ran up and freed his brother, pulling him away from the tree and releasing him from the branch.

"Oh that hurt," Damon groaned as soon as he was free. "This is why I feed on people."

Stefan pulled me back slightly at that comment, but I just rolled my eyes at Damon.

"Stefan," Emily greeted.

Stefan turned his attention to Emily, who was holding a tree branch. Stefan returned her greeting.

"Hello, Emily."

"These people don't deserve this," she told him. "They should never have to know such evil."

I furrowed my eyebrows and exchanged confused glances with Stefan.

"Evil? What do you mean evil?" I questioned.

"Emily! I swear to god I'll make you regret this!" Damon threatened, struggling to stand up.

"I won't let you unleash them into this world," Emily stood strongly.

"Them?" Stefan repeated.

"Them," I said. "Them who? What is going on?"

"What part of the story did you leave out, Damon?" Stefan asked his brother.

There was a whole story? Did Damon tell Stefan what he was doing in town and what he wanted with the crystal? Damon clearly left something out, if that's what happened. Then again, it shouldn't be a surprise.

"What does it matter?" Damon asked rhetorically.

"Emily tell me what you did," Stefan turned to Emily.

"To save her, I had to save them," she answered.

"You saved everyone in the church?" Stefan deduced in surprise.

"With one, comes all," she said.

I put it all together. The church…the church full of Union sympathizers this town set on fire in 1864. They weren't Union sympathizers, they were vampires. And Elizabeth and Katherine…Damon said they died in a fire. It was that fire, they burned in that church. At least, they were supposed to. Emily saved them and apparently saved everyone else with them.

"I don't care about that," Damon said almost desperately. "I just want Elizabeth."

Elizabeth. Staying in town, threatening Bonnie, trying to get the crystal…it was all so he could get Elizabeth back. Part of me admired how much he loved and was devoted to her and the other part of me was…hurt. I didn't know why nor did I think I had reason to be. I just…was.

"This is about revenge," Stefan said by the time I started paying attention again.

"The two aren't mutually exclusive," Damon said.

"Damon you can't do this!"

"Why not?!" Damon demanded. "They killed 27 people and they called it a war battle. They deserve whatever they get."

"27 vampires, Damon," Stefan stressed to him. "They were vampires. You can't just bring them back!"

"This town deserves this."

"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened 145 years ago!" I cut in.

Damon's wild eyes turned to me and oddly enough, I thought they softened a little when they did.

"There is nothing innocent about this town, Sam," he told me before he turned back to Stefan. "And don't think for a second it won't happen again! They already know too much and-"

He looked at Emily.

"-they'll burn your little grandwitch right next to us when they find out. Trust me," he warned her.

"Things are different now," Emily said calmly.

I noticed now that she had drawn what looked like a pentagram on the ground and was standing in the center of it.

"Emily, don't do this," Damon begged.

"I can't free them," she stated. "I won't."

She let the stick fall to the ground.

"Incendia!" she called.

Stefan pulled me behind him when the pentagram lit on fire. Damon continued to protest and plead with Emily, but she wasn't having any of it.

"Bonnie!"

My head snapped to my right where I saw Elena and Chastity both running toward the fire. I rushed toward them, but Stefan beat me to them and stopped them from getting too close. By the time I got to the trio, Emily was throwing the necklace up in the air where it exploded in to millions of pieces. The fire went out when all the pieces hit the ground and Bonnie's eyes closed before opening once more.

"Damon," I warned when I saw his face.

Before I could say anything else, he had lunged at Bonnie and bit in to her neck. She screamed and Stefan sped over to tear his brother off of her. Bonnie fell to the ground limply and I ran, slipping as I rushed and dropped to her side. I began searching her neck for a pulse, letting out a relieved breath when I felt one but it quickly turned to panic when I felt how faint it was.

"Stefan, she's barely alive," I breathed.

"I can save her," he told me.

He bit in to his wrist and fed her his blood, which she resisted at first but not for long. I watched in partial amazement and relief as Bonnie's neck wound closed up before I looked back at Damon, whose eyes were tearing up. Despite the fact that he had just tried to kill one of my best friends, I couldn't help feeling bad for him. All of the things he did…he just wanted Elizabeth back.

* * *

><p>After comforting Bonnie and assuring her that we would explain everything to her, and after getting permission from Stefan to tell her, Elena got Bonnie in her car where Chastity was. Stefan decided he was still going to leave, despite Elena and I begging him not to. He still felt it was the safest and right thing to do. He said goodbye to the both of us and right after he did, I felt an emptiness inside of me. It hurt, but I could tell the pain was worse for Elena.<p>

After Stefan was gone, I hugged Elena and told her to get Bonnie back to our house.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I…"

"Sam, no," she immediately said after getting the hint that I was staying to talk to Damon. "He just tried to kill Bonnie."

"I know but."

I closed my mouth and sighed.

"He needs someone right now," I told her. "Please…just trust me?"

She gave me a disapproving look, showing me she wasn't at all comfortable with the idea.

"I'm not leaving," she finally said after a moment. "I'll let you go to him though, but I'm not leaving you alone with him."

It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I accepted it. She got in the car and I began walking in the direction I saw Damon go in earlier. Eventually I found him sitting on a log, drinking away. He held up the bottle to me when he saw me.

"Come on," he said. "Let me have it."

"Have what?" I asked.

"Rip in to me for ripping in to Bonnie," he clarified.

I sat by him on the log and snatched the bourbon from him, looking him straight in the eye as I did so.

"I'm not here for that," I told him.

He gave me a look.

"Really?" he quizzed.

"No," I confirmed. "I mean, I do have a few choice words for you but…I won't say them."

"Why's that?" he asked sarcastically.

"Because you're hurt enough."

He fell in a stunned silence so I continued.

"I know…you loved Elizabeth," I said. "You must have really loved her if you were willing to go as far as you did and were going to just so you could have her back. I'm sorry you won't be getting her back."

He didn't say anything.

"God, I can't imagine how you must feel. Waiting 145 years only to have your last chance literally blow up in your face like that. I'm sorry, Damon. I really am. Just know…that…I'm here for you."

His eyes finally met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking or feeling besides surprise and hurt. That was about it.

"I don't know if you're staying or leaving like Stefan, but if you are staying," I said as I stood up. "You have a friend."

I held the bottle back to him and he took it from me gently.

"Good night, Damon," I whispered.

I turned to go but before I could walk away, he caught my hand. I looked at him and he kissed my hand gently, rubbing his thumb lightly over my knuckles before he released my hand.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

I gave him a small smile and nodded. I walked to Elena's car, feeling somewhat sadder than I did before. Damon was hurt, Stefan was leaving, Bonnie almost died…

This night was horrible. It wasn't as bad as the night Vicki died, but it was still bad. In spite of everything, though, I wanted Stefan to stay and I wanted Damon to stay. Stefan was my friend and Elena loved him and Damon…it was selfish, but I wanted him to stay for me.

He wouldn't though. Not after losing the chance to get Elizabeth back. He wouldn't want to stay in a town that reminded him of her. That's what made me sad and I didn't know why. I just was.


End file.
